DEFENCE

Air Force: Housing

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his plans are for use of the vacant United States' European Command housing units at  (a) RAF Molesworth and  (b) RAF Chevelston; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The United States Department of Defence announced on 15 April 2009, that the two residential estates at RAF Molesworth and RAF Chevelston were to be released to the Ministry of Defence.
	If they are not required for defence purposes, the estate will be disposed of in accordance with HM Treasury guidelines (Managing Public Money).

Armed Forces: Pensions

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse would be of extending eligibility for a full armed forces pension to those who retired from the armed forces before 1975; and what percentage of his Department's budget this would represent.

Kevan Jones: It is not practical to make an accurate estimate of the cost of making pension awards to those service personnel who served less than 22 years (16 years for officers) reckonable service prior to 1975.
	Given the similarities with other schemes, the cost of providing pensions for pre-1975 service on a retrospective basis across the public sector would be prohibitive—exceeding tens of billions of pounds.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will consider extending eligibility for an armed forces pension to those who retired from the armed forces before 1975;
	(2)  if he will review the criteria for entitlement to a full armed forces pension for people who retired from the armed forces before 1975; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  when the criteria for entitlement to a full armed forces pension for people who retired from the armed forces before 1975 were last reviewed; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: There remains no realistic prospect that this or any Government could afford to address these public sector pension legacy issues. For further details I refer the hon. Member to the speech given by the then Minister of State for the Armed Forces in the Adjournment Debate on 31 January 2007,  Official Report, column 338-340, which clearly set out the legislative and policy background to this matter.
	There are therefore no plans to review the criteria for entitlement for an armed forces pension.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people who retired from the armed forces before 1975 and are  (a) disabled,  (b) injured and  (c) have ill health as a result of their service do not receive an armed forces pension.

Kevan Jones: This information is not held. If an individual had been invalided from the armed forces with a disability attributable to or aggravated by service they would have been considered for an armed forces pension. Should the disability arise after the individual had left the armed forces, and it is proved that the disablement was caused by service, they may be eligible to receive an award under the War Pension Scheme.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people who retired from the armed forces before 1975 and who had served in  (a) Northern Ireland,  (b) the Second World War,  (c) Greece,  (d) Korea,  (e) Cyprus and  (f) Palestine do not receive an armed forces pension.

Kevan Jones: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Crown Dependencies: Armed Forces

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what UK armed forces are based in  (a) St. Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha,  (b) South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands and  (c) the Falkland Islands.

Bill Rammell: There are some 1,250 UK armed forces personnel based in the South Atlantic Islands, the majority on the Falkland Islands, supported by a small detachment based on Ascension Island. This figure varies during the year due to individual posting plots and unit moves. There are no UK armed forces based in St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands.

Departmental Billing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: Information currently available for the Department, its agencies and trading funds is provided in the following table:
	
		
			   MOD and agencies  UK hydrographic office  Met office  Defence science and technology laboratory 
			  Month  Total invoices  % paid within 10 days  Total invoices  % paid within 10 days  Total invoices  % paid within 10 days  Total invoices  % paid within 10 days 
			 June 2008 — — — — — — 2884 23.6 
			 July 2008 — — — — — — 2466 27.5 
			 August 2008 — — — — — — 2445 19.4 
			 September 2008 — — — — — — 2772 23.9 
			 October 2008 — — — — — — 2393 23.1 
			 November 2008 390,354 72.3 — — — — 2371 19.7 
			 December 2008 415,608 85.0 — — — — 3050 26.0 
			 January 2009 361,494 80.0 — — 1267 55.5 1967 46.0 
			 February 2009 459246 85.0 — — 1010 82.5 2686 19.9 
			 March 2009 466,246 90.7 740 94.7 1271 86.2 2673 38.3 
			 April 2009 472,644 92.8 551 97.6 1090 81.3 — — 
			 May 2009 445,844 98.4 572 98.1 922 77.5 — — 
		
	
	We are working with the Defence Support Group towards a target to pay trade creditors' invoices within 10 days of receipt.

Members: Correspondence

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to answer question 273046, on Somali piracy, tabled on 29 April 2009.

Bill Rammell: My predecessor, the right hon. Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth) replied on 4 June 2009,  Official Report, column 627W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

British Overseas Territories:

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether records of DNA profiles are held on the Overseas Territories Regional Crime Intelligence System.

Chris Bryant: There are no records of DNA profiles held on the Overseas Territories Regional Criminal Intelligence System.

British Overseas Territories: Nature Conservation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 357W, on British Overseas Territories: environment protection, what projects were funded from the £65,058 granted to the British Virgin Islands.

Chris Bryant: The following projects have been funded from the £65,058 granted under the Overseas Territories Environment Programme to the British Virgin Islands:
	Assisting the Jost Van Dyke Preservation Society to advance environmental protection and sustainable development;
	The publishing and launch of an Environmental CD Atlas and Teaching Resource for schools;
	Improving management of marine protected areas through assessment of the Marine Conservation Programme;
	Construction of a Mangrove Wetland Interpretive Centre;
	Working with the Conservation and Fisheries Department on a National Environmental Action Plan.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no current contracts with Demos.

Departmental Billing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average number of days taken to pay an invoice by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its executive agencies was in each month since November 2008.

Chris Bryant: The average number of days taken to pay an invoice in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) are as follows:
	
		
			   Days 
			 November 2008 11.5 
			 December 2008 11.5 
			 January 2009 13.2 
			 February 2009 9.5 
			 March 2009 8.7 
			 April 2009 14.8 
			 May 2009 10.0 
		
	
	FCO Services is a trading fund that has a separate payments system. FCO Services figures for these months are
	
		
			   Days 
			 November 2008 20 
			 December 2008 12 
			 January 2009 9 
			 February 2009 8 
			 March 2009 10 
			 April 2009 11 
			 May 2009 13 
		
	
	Both the FCO and FCO Services recognise the importance of paying suppliers promptly, and ensure that valid invoices are paid as soon as possible.

Departmental Marketing

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been spent by his Department on advertising in weekly and regional newspapers in each of the last five years.

Chris Bryant: Consular communications in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advertised in weekly and regional newspapers as part of its ongoing travel safety campaign for British nationals between April 2005 and March 2009.
	These advertorials were placed as part of a targeted and multimedia campaign. Where possible the campaign concentrated on editorial coverage; where advertorial space was bought it was part of a negotiated package and was usually below the standard cost.
	Prior to 2007-08 no funds were spent on advertising in weekly and regional newspapers (in this area).
	
		
			   Total spend (£) 
			 2007-08 18,000.00 
			 2008-09 38,300.00 
		
	
	Human resources directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advertises in weekly and regional newspapers for recruitment purposes.
	
		
			   Total spend (£) 
			 2006-07 164,960.62 
			 2007-08 73,574.48 
			 2008-09 18,323.85 
			  Note: Figures are not available for the financial year 2005-06. 
		
	
	The large reduction in advertising costs over the period for which figures are available is due to a large increase in the use of internet advertising, together with a large reduction in the number of recruitment campaigns from 2006-07 to the present financial year.

Diplomatic Service

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many consular staff his Department employs in each of its embassies in Africa.

Chris Bryant: The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff carrying out consular activities in Africa is 114. About 80 per cent. of these staff are locally hired, the remainder being diplomatic service officers. The following list provides the details by post within Africa.
	
		
			  Post name  Consular FTE 
			 Abidjan 0.3 
			 Abuja 0.8 
			 Accra 5.8 
			 Addis Ababa 1.6 
			 Agadir 1.0 
			 Alexandria 0.9 
			 Algiers 0.7 
			 Asmara 1.1 
			 Banjul 1.5 
			 Cairo 10.0 
			 Cape Town 4.0 
			 Conakry 0.3 
			 Dakar 1.2 
			 Dar Es Salaam 1.9 
			 Freetown 0.9 
			 Gaborone 0.9 
			 Harare 7.8 
			 Kampala 2.1 
			 Khartoum 1.7 
			 Kigali 0.8 
			 Kinshasa 0.4 
			 Lagos 14.0 
			 Lilongwe 2.2 
			 Luanda 0.3 
			 Lusaka 2.2 
			 Maputo 1.3 
			 Marrakech 1.0 
			 Nairobi 11.5 
			 Port Louis 2.3 
			 Pretoria 22.8 
			 Rabat 1.3 
			 Tangier 1.6 
			 Tripoli 1.9 
			 Tunis 3.6 
			 Victoria 1.6 
			 Windhoek 0.5 
			 Yaounde 0.4

Election Observers

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to send election observers to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights election observation missions in  (a) Bulgaria and  (b) Kyrgyzstan.

Chris Bryant: We plan to send election observers to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights election observation missions in Kyrgyzstan on 23 July 2009.
	We do not usually send OSCE observers to elections in EU countries.

European Court of Justice

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate has been made of the cost to the public purse of changes in Government policy or practice necessitated by judgments made in the European Court of Justice since 2005.

Chris Bryant: Any change to Government policy or practice, resulting from judgments made in the European Courts, would be the responsibility of the Government Department concerned. No estimate has been made as to the total cost across Government of amending policy or practice due to European Court judgments.

North Korea

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which luxury goods may not be exported to North Korea under the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718 (2006).

David Miliband: UN Security Council Resolution 1718 decided that all UN Member States shall prevent the direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea of luxury goods. The Resolution did not specify which items were defined as luxury goods. Council Regulation 329/2007 defined those goods for the purposes of EU implementation. The list is available in Annex III of Council Regulation (EC) No. 329/2007.

Poland: Anti-Semitism

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on anti-Semitism in Poland; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: Our embassy in Warsaw is in touch with non-governmental organisations and relevant Polish Government representatives that deal with and monitor anti-Semitism. A lot of work has been done since 1988 to improve understanding and bring about reconciliation. The Polish Government have recently highlighted some of their initiatives in their interim report, responding to a 2007 memorandum, to the Council of Europe Commissioner for human rights. This can be found on the Commissioner's website:
	http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/News/2009/090420 PolandReport_en.asp.
	The Polish Government are also very supportive of the Museum of the History of the Polish Jews which is due to open in 2011 and of which President Kaczynski is patron.

South America: Embassies

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many consular staff his Department employs in other of its embassies in South America.

Chris Bryant: The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff carrying out consular activities in South America is 29.2. About 80 per cent. of these staff are locally hired, the remainder being diplomatic service officers. The following list provides the details by post within South America.
	
		
			  Post name  Consular FTE 
			 Bogota 4.2 
			 Brasilia 0.7 
			 Buenos Aires 3.4 
			 Caracas 3.0 
			 Georgetown 0.9 
			 La Paz 0.8 
			 Lima 2.9 
			 Montevideo 1.6 
			 Quito 2.0 
			 Rio de Janeiro 3.8 
			 Santiago 3.6 
			 Sao Paulo 2.2

HEALTH

Arthritis: Health Services

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to provide patients with rheumatoid arthritis with  (a) an effective treatment pathway and  (b) an individual care management plan.

Ann Keen: The Department has developed in partnership with a wide group of stakeholders an 18 weeks commissioning pathway for inflammatory arthritis. The pathway describes an ideal treatment pathway meeting all best practice guidance and recommends the use of individual care management plans for patients with this condition. The pathway will be published on 12 June 2009 on the 18 week website. The Department has also made a commitment in "High Quality Care for All", the final report of the NHS Next Stage Review that everyone with a long term condition will be offered a personalised care plan by 2010.

Burns: Liverpool

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the recommendation put forward by the National Burns Network Board for the treatment of  (a) adult and  (b) paediatric burns patients in Liverpool; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his latest assessment is of the standards of care for  (a) adult and  (b) paediatric burns patients in Liverpool.

Ann Keen: The Northern Burns Care Network has developed proposals for the future configuration of supra-regional burns care adult and paediatric centres, for the treatment of the most serious and highly complex patients. This included an extensive process of engagement and involvement of users/carers, clinicians, and overview and scrutiny committee representatives across the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber and North Wales.
	The recommendations from these proposals will be considered over the next six weeks by the strategic health authority assurance review team, a workshop of Overview and Scrutiny Committees, the National Burns Care Group and the National Specialised Commissioning Group. In the light of advice from these fora, local commissioners will then take decisions about this phase of the response to the National Burn Care Review.
	For the whole of the northern network, the total number of very severe burns patients is estimated to be 11-22 children and 45-55 adults per annum. Based on the recommended configuration being considered for supra-regional centres, the potential number of such patients requiring transfer from Liverpool hospitals would be approximately three children and eight adults per annum. Any patients treated within these services will be transferred back to their local 'regional burn care' centres once they are well enough to continue their rehabilitation and long-term care.
	The National Burn Care Group has developed clinically-led standards for specialised burn care based on the National Burn Care Review. Currently, no hospitals in the northern network meet the new burns care standards for Supra-Regional Centres. The new proposals are an initial step towards achieving these standards. In addition, support from the Northern Burn Care Network will continue to be given to upgrade the facilities of Regional Burn Care Centres across the network and also to strengthen the Regional Centres to enable them to give improved support to patients currently treated for more minor burn injuries in primary care and district general hospitals.

Fractures

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether financial incentives are available to primary care trusts to encourage health professionals to identify and treat those at a high risk of fragility fracture.

Phil Hope: The forthcoming prevention package for older people will contain guidance to support commissioners to be more cost effective in commissioning services for falls and fractures within their existing budgets in the form of a patient care pathway. It is for local primary care trusts to decide how they take forward work in this area.

Fractures

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress his Department has made in the development of coherent clinical guidance on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of falls, fragility fractures and osteoporosis.

Phil Hope: The Department is committed to work on falls and fracture prevention. The National Service Framework for Older People (2001) (a copy of which has already been placed in the Library) already sets out clear standards and actions for the prevention and treatment of falls. In addition, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is in the process of reviewing its clinical guideline on the prevention of falls in older people. The new prevention package for older people will also support improvement in this area through a commissioning pathway for falls.

Mental Health Services

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department allocated to cognitive behavioural therapy treatments in NHS facilities in each of the last three years.

Phil Hope: The Department does not allocate funding to specific treatments in national health service facilities and so does not have this information. However, throughout the last three years, the Government have been running the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, which is helping the NHS implement National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance for the treatment of common mental health problems and over the next few years will make cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) more widely available than ever before. This is because CBT is one of the key treatments recommended by NICE.
	In 2006-07, the programme launched two pilot projects in Newham and Doncaster, to which it allocated a total of £3 million.
	In 2007-08, the programme also ran 11 smaller pilots, to which it allocated a further £2 million.
	In 2008-09, a national roll-out of NICE-compliant psychological therapies began with the creation of services in 35 primary care trusts (PCTs) costing a total of £33 million. This involves a training programme for 3,600 new therapy workers over three years. Initially, the training for this workforce has focused on CBT because this is where the biggest shortage lies and it supports the NHS in delivering the NICE treatment guidelines.
	This investment is continuing to increase substantially, with a further 80 services coming on stream in the autumn bringing the total to £103 million in 2009-10, and every PCT beginning to establish these new services in 2010 when the investment will rise to £173 million.

Mental Health Services

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which mental health conditions are treated by cognitive behavioural therapy available on the NHS; and what the average waiting time between diagnosis and commencement of a course of treatment was in each primary care trust in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommends the national health service to offer cognitive behavioural therapy as a treatment for: antenatal and postnatal mental health problems; anti-social personality disorder; anxiety; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; bipolar disorder; borderline personality disorder; dementia; depression in adults, children and young people; drug misuse; bulimia; obsessive compulsive disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder; schizophrenia; self-harming; and violence. The actual use of this treatment is recorded in individual patient records and not held centrally. No data are held centrally on the average waiting time between diagnosis and the start of treatment. However, one of the central aims of the improving access to psychological therapies programme is to ensure that people needing to access these treatments are able to do so more rapidly by providing them in primary and community settings, such as general practitioner surgeries.

Mental Health Services

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time between diagnosis and the commencement of a course of cognitive behavioural therapy was for persons diagnosed with schizophrenia in each primary care trust area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: Data about the waiting time between diagnosis and the start of a course of cognitive behavioural therapy for people with schizophrenia are not held centrally.

NHS: Public Consultation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department has allocated to local involvement networks for each of the next 10 years.

Ann Keen: The allocations to local authorities with social services responsibilities for the purposes of establishing and supporting local involvement networks (LINks) were announced as part of the local government finance settlement for 2008-09. The announcement covered the three years from 2008-09 to 2010-11.
	No Government spending beyond this date has been agreed.

Skin Cancer: Health Education

Bruce George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to increase levels of public awareness of skin cancer.

Gillian Merron: SunSmart is the national skin cancer and sun protection campaign and is run by Cancer Research UK on behalf of the UK Health Departments. The 2009 campaign highlights the rising rate of skin cancer, focuses on teenagers and young people, and aims to raise public awareness of the dangers of sunbeds and sunburn. It offers practical information on protecting the skin in the sun. As well as engaging with the media to promote skin cancer prevention, the SunSmart website
	www.info.cancerresearchuk.org/healthyliving/sunsmart/
	provides information and advice and downloadable resources on the risks to health of sunbeds and sunburn. The campaign has also created interventions to reach young people through social networking sites.

OLYMPICS

Football: Olympic Games 2012

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her most recent estimate is of the cost of hosting the London 2012 Olympics football events at  (a) Hampden Park,  (b) the Millennium Stadium,  (c) Old Trafford,  (d) St James' Park,  (e) Villa Park and  (f) Wembley Stadium.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has responsibility for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games at existing venues. The direct costs associated with staging the events at existing venues come from LOCOG's revenues which are primarily derived from commercial sponsorship, broadcast rights, ticket sales and merchandising/licensing—not from the public purse.
	There will be attributable costs to the public purse, for example in respect of the security and transport functions associated with the venue. However these costs have not yet been identified separately for individual venues, but they will form part of the overall security and transport budgets.

Olympic Games 2012: Hadleigh

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of hosting the Olympic mountain biking event at Hadleigh.

Tessa Jowell: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has responsibility for delivering the mountain bike event at Hadleigh Farm, working with Essex county council. Direct costs of staging the event come from LOCOG's revenues which are primarily derived from commercial sponsorship, broadcast rights, ticket sales and merchandising/licensing—not from the public purse.
	There will be attributable costs to the public purse, for example in respect of the security and transport functions associated with the venue. However these costs have not yet been identified separately for individual venues, but they will form part of the overall security and transport budgets.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Climate Change

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department has taken to adapt to climate change in the last two years.

Barbara Follett: Operational measures the Department for Culture, Media and Sport took to adapt to climate change included the introduction of a new waste management scheme which ensured that as much is recycled as possible. With the help of the Carbon Trust, the Department worked with manufacturers to pilot an innovative lighting scheme which reduced the energy used and improved efficiency. The Department also trialled a scheme which is now being rolled out across Government which adjusted the voltage used to the lowest optimal level. The Department has also replaced new gas boilers with more energy efficient ones, which means that our premises are able to respond more effectively to changing weather conditions while ensuring the safety of staff is maintained.
	We are encouraging our non departmental public bodies to introduce similar measures.

Climate Change

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of his Department's potential gross  (a) costs and  (b) savings arising from its climate change adaptation measures in the next three years.

Barbara Follett: It is not currently possible to provide estimates of the potential costs and savings over the next three years.
	The Government are undertaking a climate change risk assessment and economic analysis, which will provide estimates of the costs and benefits of adaptation to the UK. This analysis will be presented to Parliament within three years of the Climate Change Act coming in to force.

Cultural Heritage

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to publish details of the Government's vision and priorities for the historic environment before the Summer Adjournment.

Ben Bradshaw: We are aiming to publish the Historic Environment Vision Statement in the summer.

Demos

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department has any contracts with the think-tank Demos.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department does not have any contracts with Demos.

Departmental Billing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department's performance of payment of invoices within 10 days of receipt in each month since November 2008 is set out in the table. Prior to November 2008, there was no requirement to gather and maintain data on this basis. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.
	The Department's Agency, The Royal Parks, is not able to record the information in the format requested and can provide it only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Month  Percentage of invoices paid within 10 working days 
			 November 2008 43 
			 December 2008 77 
			 January 2009 80 
			 February 2009 87 
			 March 2009 88 
			 April 2009 87 
			 May 2009 85

Gambling: Sports

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  when he expects the new expert panel on sports betting to produce its first report on its work;
	(2)  what the  (a) terms of reference and  (b) work plan of the new expert panel on sports betting will be;
	(3)  who the members of the new expert panel on sports betting will be;
	(4)  when he expects the new expert panel on sports betting to be established.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The expert panel on sports betting will be established very soon and I will announce the members, terms of reference and work plan at that time. I will be asking the chair to recommend to me, within six months, a practical, effective and proportionate plan of action that has the support of those responsible for delivery.

Sports: Drugs

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what legal obligations are imposed on the Government by the 2005 UNESCO International Convention on Doping in Sport.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 11 June 2009
	The UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport (the Convention) provides a legally binding framework for Governments to take a range of measures to tackle doping in sport and apply the principles set out in the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code).
	In summary this includes, where appropriate—funding and supporting a national testing programme; supporting education and training on anti-doping; adopting, or encouraging sport and anti-doping organisations to adopt, measures to restrict the availability and prevent the misuse of prohibited substances and methods in sport; withholding funding from persons suspended for doping violations, or bodies not in compliance with the Code; encouraging and promoting anti-doping research; encouraging best practice in the marketing of nutritional supplements; and encouraging international cooperation in the fight against doping.
	The UK primarily complies with its obligations under the Convention by way of administrative action taken by UK Sport, the UK's national anti-doping organisation. Full details of the Convention can be found at:
	http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31037&URL_ DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Sports: Drugs

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what obligations arise in UK law from the Government's signature of the 2009 World Anti-Doping Code.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 11 June 2009
	The UK Government are not a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code). However, it supports the principles set out in the Code through its ratification of the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport (the Convention). This provides a legally binding framework for Governments to take a range of measures to tackle doping in sport and apply the principles set out in the Code.
	The UK primarily complies with its obligations under the Convention by way of administrative action taken by UK Sport, the UK's national anti-doping organisation. UK Sport is responsible for the implementation of the national anti-doping testing programme in accordance with the UK's anti-doping policy, which is fully compliant with the requirements of the Code. UK Sport ensures National Governing Bodies of sport comply with the Code through a policy and administrative approach.

Sports: Drugs

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the legal basis is for the testing of professional sportsmen and women for drug use in the UK.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 11 June 2009
	UK Sport is designated by Government to deliver the UK's national anti-doping testing programme in line with its 'National Anti-Doping Policy' and the principles and processes set out in the World Anti-Doping Code and accompanying International Standards.
	It carries out tests on sportsmen and women on the basis of their consent, either through a contractual relationship they may have with their National Federation or as a member, license holder etc. of their National Federation. In both cases they will consent to abiding by the rules of that sport, which include the anti-doping rules, and to make themselves available for testing.

Tourism: Balance of Payments

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the UK's tourism balance of payments was for 2008-09; and what information his Department holds for benchmarking purposes on the equivalent figures for  (a) France,  (b) Spain and  (c) the US in the same period.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 1 June 2009
	 Provisional data from the International Passenger Survey estimate a tourism balance of payments deficit of £20 billion in 2008-09.
	The Spanish Institute of Tourism Studies have published their 2008-09 tourism balance of payments showing a £24 billion surplus. The French Ministère de l'économie, de l'industrie et de l'emploi
	http://www.minefe.gouv.fr/
	published a paper "Le tourism en France en 2008" stating the provisional figures from the Banque de France on the tourism balance of payments surplus is £8.6 billion.
	In March 2009 the Bureau of Economic Analysis, part of the US Department of Commerce, Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, published a tourism balance of payments surplus of £17.9 billion.

Tourism: Finance

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make an estimate for benchmarking purposes of the level of financial support given to the tourist industry in other EU member states by their governments.

Barbara Follett: DCMS does not keep a record the financial support given to the tourist industry in other EU member states by their Governments.
	However in 2005 the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) published the following figures in their report 'Structures and Budgets of National Tourism Organisations, 2004/05'. These figures only reflect central government funding for marketing inbound tourism, and do not include regional or local government spend on marketing. These figures have been converted into sterling from dollars at the March 2005 exchange rate.
	The UNWTO have confirmed they plan to publish updated figures in the autumn for the period 2006-08.
	
		
			  Country (alphabetical)  Public sector budget for 2005 administer by National Tou rist Office/Agency   (£ million( 1) )  Percentage public sector contribution to total budget  (i.e. rest from private sector) 
			 Austria 30.6 64.9 
			 Czech Republic 4.5 100 
			 Denmark 18.2 62.3 
			 Finland 17.6 61.1 
			 France 33.7 53.6 
			 Germany 20.6 78.8 
			 Greece 80.6 93.7 
			 Hungary 11.7 90.3 
			 Ireland 43.7 97.2 
			 Italy 32.9 86.7 
			 Netherlands 18.5 64.3 
			 Norway 18.9 32.2 
			 Poland 5.1 89.8 
			 Spain 63.7 100 
			 Sweden 9.3 70.4 
			 UK 35.5 72.9 
			 (1) Figures shown are converted to £ figures at the March 2005 exchange rate.  Source: UNWTO, Structures and Budgets of National Tourism Organisations, 2005.

JUSTICE

Prisoners Release

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average amount received in discharge grants by offenders sentenced to two months' imprisonment was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Prison Service Order (PSO) 6400 (Discharge) says that, to be eligible for a discharge grant, prisoners must have been given a custodial sentence of more than 14 days. The grant is £46 and is not apportionable.
	The Prison Service has become aware that, following the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 which required that prisoners serving sentences of one year or less be released at the halfway point of their sentence, PSO 6400 was not sufficiently clear and its original intention has been misinterpreted. A revised Instruction has been issued to address this, clarifying that a prisoner must serve a sentence, of which the custodial period is more than 14 days.

Prisoners Release: Foreigners

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners were released from prisons in each of the last 10 years.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of discharges of adult and young adult foreign national prisoners from completed determinate sentences between 1999 and 2007. Data have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	
		
			   Number of FNP discharges 
			 1999 4,300 
			 2000 4,400 
			 2001 4,700 
			 2002 5,200 
			 2003 6,200 
			 2004 7,100 
			 2005 7,400 
			 2006 7,700 
			 2007 8,100 
		
	
	Improved data quality in the last year means that these data differ from previously released information. Data on all discharges will be published in the summer in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2008. Data for 1997 and 1998 are not available.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Sentencing: Crimes of Violence

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the merits of fixed-term sentences for serious violent offences.

Claire Ward: There has been no recent consideration of the merits of fixed-term sentences for serious violent offences. No two cases are the same and the Government believe that the courts should be able to take into account all the circumstances in each case to determine the appropriate sentence. The Government have provided the courts with more options for dealing with serious violent offences, including indeterminate sentences where appropriate: the Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced a new sentence of imprisonment for public protection for dangerous offenders. Under this sentence, the court sets the minimum tariff to be served by the offender and release is determined by the Parole Board on the basis of the risk presented to the community. The Government believe that this sentence offers the best protection to the public from the most dangerous violent, and sexual, offenders.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Support Agency: Official Hospitality

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Child Support Agency spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Child Support Agency spent on hospitality and entertainment in each of the last five years.
	The information you requested is provided in the table below.
	
		
			  Financial year  Amount (£) 
			 2004-05 2,393 
			 2005-06 2,462 
			 2006-07 4,726 
			 2007-08 2,732 
			 2008-09(1) 5,392 
			 (1) Figures for 2008/09 have not yet been audited by the National Audit Office and are therefore subject to change. 
		
	
	All expenditure on entertainment, also known as hospitality, is made in accordance with guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury Handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Children: Maintenance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which months since 1993 the number of cases on which decisions on maintenance have been made by the Child Support Agency and its successor have been exceeded by the number of case applications received; and what the figures in each category were in each such month.

Jonathan R Shaw: [holding answer 8 June 2009): The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in which months since 1993 the number of cases on which decisions on maintenance have been made by the Child Support Agency and its successor have been exceeded by the number of case applications received; and what the figures in each category were in each such month.
	The information you have requested is only available for the current statutory scheme from April 2003, and it is set out in the following table.
	Applications received exceeded clearances each month until March 2005 onwards when clearances exceeded applications received except in September 2005, October 2005, January 2006, February 2006, March 2006, and January 2008.
	The Agency has exceeded the expectations of the three year Operational Improvement Plan with just 49,200 uncleared current scheme applications at the end of March 2009 down from 225,600 in March 2005. This is the lowest number of current scheme applications outstanding since May 2003, two months after the scheme was launched.
	Table 2.1 of the March 2009 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS) gives information on the number of current scheme cases received and cleared by the Agency. The QSS is available in the House of Commons library or online at:
	http://www.childmaintenance.org/publications/statistics.html
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Month  Applications received  Applications cleared 
			 March 2003 11,100 1,400 
			 April 2003 16,600 2,800 
			 May 2003 20,900 3,600 
			 June 2003 23,100 7,900 
			 July 2003 26,800 10,500 
			 August2003 21,700 10,800 
			 September 2003 25,000 16,100 
			 October 2003 31,100 18,300 
			 November 2003 26,300 16,300 
			 December 2003 18,500 14,100 
			 January 2004 25,800 16,200 
			 February 2004 23,800 16,200 
			 March 2004 30,100 18,800 
			 April 2004 28,400 26,000 
			 May 2004 30,000 18,300 
			 June 2004 26,900 17,700 
			 July 2004 23,900 16,700 
			 August 2004 26,400 16,000 
			 September 2004 25,400 18,000 
			 October 2004 24,900 18,000 
			 November 2004 25,000 19,200 
			 December 2004 18,900 13,800 
			 January 2005 23,200 20,400 
			 February 2005 25,000 22,700 
			 March 2005 25,300 26,800 
			 April 2005 24,500 25,200 
			 May 2005 25,100 27,400 
			 June 2005 24,800 26,100 
			 July 2005 25,400 26,600 
			 August 2005 23,100 25,500 
			 September 2005 24,900 24,500 
			 October 2005 27,500 25,200 
			 November 2005 29,900 32,800 
			 December 2005 23,400 27,100 
			 January 2006 30,000 28,800 
			 February 2006 34,500 29,900 
			 March 2006 34,700 34,000 
			 April 2006 24,700 29,400 
			 May 2006 24,600 26,600 
			 June 2006 25,600 28,800 
			 July 2006 23,400 30,900 
			 August 2006 24,600 26,500 
			 September 2006 23,100 25,900 
			 October 2006 20,000 29,300 
			 November 2006 22,200 23,700 
			 December 2006 16,400 20,000 
			 January 2007 24,600 27,200 
			 February 2007 33,600 48,100 
			 March 2007 27,400 40,200 
			 April 2007 22,300 28,600 
			 May 2007 24,900 31,500 
			 June 2007 26,100 31,000 
			 July 2007 24,700 30,700 
			 August 2007 26,800 29,200 
			 September 2007 25,200 26,900 
			 October 2007 27,300 29,000 
			 November 2007 27,000 29,800 
			 December 2007 18,100 20,400 
			 January 2008 28,200 27,900 
			 February 2008 27,000 30,600 
			 March 2008 21,700 27,000 
			 April 2008 24,500 28,000 
			 May 2008 22,600 26,400 
			 June 2008 24,100 30,300 
			 July 2008 26,200 31,900 
			 August 2008 16,500 20,900 
			 September 2008 11,900 15,600 
			 October 2008 7,800 19,800 
			 November 2008 7,300 11,600 
			 December 2008 5,300 9,700 
			 January 2009 8,100 9,200 
			 February 2009 7,900 9,000 
			 March 2009 7,700 10,300 
			  Notes :  1. Only includes current scheme cases. Data only available from March 2003. 2. Cleared applications are those that have had a maintenance calculation carried out and a payment arrangement between the parent with care and non-resident parent put in place; a maintenance calculation carried out and nil liability established; a parent with care has been identified as claiming good cause or is subject to a reduced benefit decision; the application is identified as being a change of circumstance on an existing case; or the application has been closed. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many drug treatment places will be provided to support the planned introduction of a treatment allowance.

Jonathan R Shaw: The provision of drug treatment places to support the drugs pilots will be met from within existing allocations.

Jobcentre Plus: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) benefit delivery centres and  (b) customer-facing jobcentres were operated by Jobcentre Plus in each London borough in each of the last 24 months.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 20 May 2009
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves;
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many (a) benefit delivery centres and (b) customer-facing jobcentres were operated by Jobcentre Plus in each London borough in each of the last 24 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I have attached a table which gives a breakdown of current Jobcentres and Benefit Delivery Centres in each London Borough.
	With regard to the past 24 months, no offices closed in 2007 or 2008 but three closed during 2009, those at Orpington, Brixton Hill and Feltham.
	
		
			  London Jobcentre Plus office network by London boroughs 
			  London borough  Jobcentres  Benefit delivery centres 
			 Barking and Dagenham 2 — 
			 Barnet 4 — 
			 Bexley 1 — 
			 Brent 4 — 
			 Bromley 2 — 
			 Camden 1 — 
			 Croydon 3 — 
			 Ealing 2 — 
			 Enfield 3 — 
			 Greenwich 2 — 
			 Hackney 3 1 
			 Hammersmith & Fulham 4 — 
			 Haringey 2 — 
			 Harrow 2 — 
			 Havering 2 — 
			 Hillingdon 2 — 
			 Hounslow 2 — 
			 Islington 3 — 
			 Kensington & Chelsea 1 — 
			 Kingston 1 — 
			 Lambeth 5 — 
			 Lewisham 3 — 
			 Merton 1 — 
			 Newham 4 1 
			 Redbridge 1 1 
			 Richmond 1 — 
			 Southwark 4 — 
			 Sutton 1 — 
			 Tower Hamlets 2 — 
			 Waltham Forest 2 — 
			 Wandsworth 1 1 
			 Westminster 2 — 
			 Total 73 4

Jobcentre Plus: Interviews

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long on average a jobseeker's interview with a personal adviser  (a) for initial assessment,  (b) to make a jobseeker's agreement,  (c) to sign on and  (d) for other purposes lasted in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how long on average a jobseeker's interview with a personal adviser (a) for initial assessment (b) to make a jobseeker's agreement (c) to sign on and (d) for other purposes lasts. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Everyone making a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) has a one-to-one interview with a personal adviser to assess their circumstances, discuss and set in place a Jobseeker's Agreement and make sure they have information about and access to the help they need. The average length of this interview is 40 minutes, but the actual time taken will vary depending upon individual customer needs.
	Following the new jobseeker interview, customers are usually required to attend face-to-face fortnightly jobsearch reviews, the purpose of which is to make sure they are actively seeking work (and therefore entitled to JSA) and to see what help, if any, they need. The average time allocation for these contacts is 7.5 minutes, but the actual time taken will vary depending upon customer needs. Following the new jobseeker interview, many people find work very quickly (about 60% by 13 weeks) and need little, if any, additional help, so jobsearch reviews will involve a limited discussion to make sure people are actively seeking work and making best use of appropriate vacancy sources. Other customers will need more support in which case jobsearch reviews will take longer.
	For those people who do not find work quickly, a review is undertaken at or around 13 weeks. The average length of this review is 20 minutes, but the method of delivery and duration of contact will vary, depending upon individual needs. The process usually involves a one to one discussion with an adviser, particularly where the Jobseeker's Agreement needs revising and the customer needs more help to agree how best to increase their chances of finding work, but group sessions may also be used to give general information about access to jobs and services to help improve job prospects. Following the 13-week review process, people continue to receive regular jobsearch reviews, but for a period of six weeks, these are on a weekly (rather than fortnightly) basis.
	As part of the recently announced six-month offer, all customers reaching six months unemployment are now allocated a personal adviser who will see them regularly to help prepare and follow through an action plan, which will offer the best chance of leading to a job. The amount of adviser time allocated for the initial interview is 50 minutes, though the time actually taken will vary depending upon individual circumstances and what is decided and agreed will happen next. Following the initial interview, advisers have an average of three hours contact time for each customer, which is used flexibly by advisers to suit individual customer circumstances and needs.

Jobcentre Plus: Redundancy Pay

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much Jobcentre Plus has spent on redundancy payments in each year since it was established; and what proportion of staff costs such expenditure represents in each year.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your questions asking how much Jobcentre Plus has spent on redundancy payments in each year since it was established and what proportion of staff costs such expenditure represents in each year. This something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive.
	The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   2002/03  2003/04  2004/05  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			 Redundancy costs (£ million) 1.9 2.6 14.5 123.8 44.0 72.7 
			 Proportion of staff costs (percentage) 0.1 0.2 0.8 6.6 2.4 4.1 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus annual accounts and departmental financial systems.

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how Jobcentre Plus performed against its  (a) job outcome target,  (b) monetary value of fraud and error target,  (c) employer outcome target,  (d) customer service target,  (e) business delivery target and  (f) average actual clearance time target in each month since each target was introduced.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves :
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question how Jobcentre Plus performed against its (a) job outcome target, (b) monetary value of fraud and error target, (c) employer outcome target, (d) customer service target, (e) business delivery target and (f) average actual clearance time target in each month since each target was introduced. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The Business Delivery Target is no longer a Jobcentre Plus target. The available information has been placed in the Library.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus contact centre were  (a) answered and  (b) not answered (i) in each month of the last two years and (ii) in each year since 1997; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period;
	(2)  how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus virtual telephony platform were  (a) answered and  (b) not answered in each (i) month and (ii) year since the platform became operational; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked the Acting Chief Executive to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus contact centre were (a) answered and (b) not answered (i) in each month of the last two years and (ii) in each year since 1997; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period, and how many calls received by the Jobcentre Plus virtual telephony platform were (a) answered and (b) not answered; and what the average waiting time for a call to be answered was in each such period in each (i) month and (ii) year since the platform became operational. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The tables below provide information on the total number of calls offered to Jobcentre Plus contact centres and the numbers answered and unanswered with average speed of answer where available.
	
		
			  Monthly totals in each of the last two years 
			   Calls offered  Calls answered  Calls not answered  Average speed of answer 
			 April 2007 1,270,097 1,193,589 76,508 — 
			 May 2007 1,494,634 1,433,620 61,014 — 
			 June 2007 1,385,229 1,303,400 81,829 — 
			 July 2007 1,503,454 1,367,340 136,114 — 
			 August 2007 1,810,741 1,662,161 148,580 — 
			 September 2007 1,468,596 1,370,874 97,722 — 
			 October 2007 1,370,292 1,306,836 63,456 — 
			 December 2007 855,633 802,032 53,601 — 
			 January 2008 1,998,319 1,872,925 125,394 — 
			 February 2008 1,450,419 1,383,025 67,394 — 
			 March 2008 1,357,724 1,125,320 232,404 — 
			 April2008 1,373,527 1,258,862 114,665 — 
			 May 2008 1,599,042 1,482,936 116,106 — 
			 June 2008 1,558,995 1,195,905 363,090 — 
			 July 2008 1,881,447 1,622,186 259,261 00:01:30 
			 August 2008 1,392,754 1,304,201 88,553 00:01:17 
			 September 2008 1,514,106 1,360,135 153,971 00:01:45 
			 October 2008 1,933,292 1,729,172 204,120 00:01:40 
			 November 2008 1,732,641 1,404,725 327,916 00:02:52 
			 December 2008 940,345 845,350 94,995 00:01:58 
			 January 2009 2,301,754 2,068,444. 233,310 00:01:46 
			 February 2009 1,768,980 1,603,397 165,583 00:01:32 
			 March 2009 1,641,803 1,550,319 91,484 00:01:17 
			  Note: Data on average speed of answer are only available since July 2008, following the introduction of virtual telephony platform which enabled this information to be recorded. 
		
	
	
		
			  Annual totals from 2004 
			   Calls offered  Calls answered  Calls not answered 
			 2004-05 14,910,760 12,108,721 2,802,039 
			 2005-06 18,257,052 15,956,298 2,300,754 
			 2006-07 18,848,944 17,954,117 894,827 
			 2007-08 17,587,392 16,341,493 1,245,899 
			 2008-09 19,638,686 17,425,632 2,213,054 
			  Note: Data are only available since the creation of Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre Directorate in 2004. 
		
	
	
		
			  Monthly totals since virtual telephony platform complete July 2008 
			   Calls offered  Calls answered  Calls not answered  Average speed of answer 
			 July 2008 1,881,447 1,622,186 259,261 00:01:30 
			 August 2008 1,392,754 1,304,201 88,553 00:01:17 
			 September 2008 1,514,106 1,360,135 153,971 00:01:45 
			 October 2008 1,933,292 1,729,172 204,120 00:01:40 
			 November 2008 1,732,641 1,404,725 327,916 00:02:52 
			 December 2008 940,345 845,350 94,995 00:01:58 
			 January 2009 2,301,754 2,068,444 233,310 00:01:46 
			 February 2009 1,768,980 1,603,397 165,583 00:01:32 
			 March 2009 1,641,803 1,550,319 91,484 00:01:17

Jobcentre Plus: Vacancies

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) full-time,  (b) part-time,  (c) permanent and  (d) temporary vacancies were (i) registered by employers with Jobcentre Plus and (ii) subsequently filled in each (A) region and (B) Jobcentre Plus district in (1) in each year since 2002 and (2) each of the last 24 months.

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time job vacancies for (i) temporary and (ii) permanent positions were advertised through Jobcentre Plus in (A) each year since 1997 and (B) each month in the last two years.

Jim Knight: Information on the number of permanent and temporary vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus is not available. Information on the number of full-time and part-time vacancies notified with Jobcentre Plus is available from April 2004 and has been placed in the Library.
	Information on the number of vacancies registered with Jobcentre Plus and subsequently filled in each region and Jobcentre Plus district in each year since 2002 and each of the last 24 months is not available.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage change in the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance in  (a) Wellingborough constituency and  (b) the UK was in the last 12 months.

Tony McNulty: The latest information available is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage change for jobseeker's allowance claimants: Wellingborough parliamentary constituency and the UK, March 2008 and March 2009 
			   Wellingborough parliamentary constituency  United Kingdom 
			 March 2008 (number) 1,447 842,827 
			 March 2009 (number) 3,239 1,523,482 
			
			 Percentage change in year 123.8 80.8 
			  Notes: 1. Percentage change is calculated between March 2008 and March 2009. 2: The claimant count data are published at https://www.nomisweb.co.uk 3. Figures include clerically held cases.  Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus Computer Systems

New Deal Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people over 25 years old have not been referred to the New Deal 25 plus or Employment Zones upon reaching 18 months as a claimant as a result of  (a) capacity and  (b) budgetary constraints;
	(2)  how many people aged 18 to 24 years old upon reaching six months of a Jobseeker's Allowance claim have not been referred to the New Deal for Young People or Employment Zones as a result of  (a) capacity and  (b) budgetary constraints.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not available as it is not collected on Department for Work and Pensions' databases.
	However, Jobcentre Plus performance in delivering New Deal and Employment Zone referral interviews is measured as part of an Interventions Delivery Target. The latest performance figures (up to November 2008) show that 91.8 per cent. checked, JSA-related adviser interviews, which include the initial New Deal/Employment Zone referral interview, were undertaken within the required timescale. This is against a target of 90 per cent. Therefore there is no reason to believe customers are not being referred to New Deal and Employment Zones at the appropriate time.

Social Security Benefits

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 62-63W, on social security benefits, when she plans to place the information on benefit rates in the Library; and for what reason the information has not yet been placed there.

Jonathan R Shaw: It was intended that the information on benefit rates would be deposited in the Library on 5 May 2009 but in fact it was not deposited until a week later, on 12 May 2009. The delay was due to an administrative oversight, for which I apologise.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget for her Department's 'We're closing in' campaign is; and how much her Department has spent on the element of the campaign conducted in Alicante.

Jim Knight: In 2008-09, expenditure for the 'We're closing in' campaign was £5.8 million. Out of this amount, we spent £46,000 on communications in Spain which were designed to raise awareness of the new hotline in Alicante.

Social Security Benefits: Personal Records

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how long her Department retains records of claimants who have ceased claiming each benefit; and on how many occasions a local authority has requested information on a benefit claimant for which his Department no longer holds records since 1997.

Jim Knight: The Department has a comprehensive document and data retention policy that is detailed in the Benefits Document and Data Retention Guide (Benefits DDRG). A copy of the Benefits DDRG has been placed in the Library.
	In general, documents are retained for 14 months from the date a claim ceases. There are exceptions to this across all benefits, details of which can be found in the DDRG. One specific exception is where there is a housing benefit or council tax benefit interest, in which case records will be kept for six years.
	Information on how many occasions a local authority has requested information on a benefit claimant for which the Department no longer holds records since 1997 is not available.

Unemployment

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are being taken to reduce unemployment levels amongst low-skilled people.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 15 May 2009
	The UK Government have made a commitment to develop and deliver a fully Integrated Employment and Skills (IES) system in England by 2010-11. This new integrated service will bring together and reform existing employment and skills services to better help jobseekers get the right balance of job search and training to help them into sustained employment and to progress in their career and, in particular, to help those with basic and employability skills to engage with the labour market and get, keep and progress in a job.
	Under the auspices of this service:
	Claimants will receive personalised support from a Jobcentre Plus adviser who will work with customers to identify the steps appropriate to enable a swift return to work, including referral to careers advice or skills training where appropriate.
	Jobcentre Plus Personal Advisers are able to agree early access to the job search and training support offered by the New Deal for people whose circumstances may make it particularly hard to find work. The introduction of the Flexible New Deal will establish a new, individually-tailored approach for all job seekers, whatever their age, skills or barriers to work.
	The Employability Skills Programme (ESP) enables people in England to train full-time from day one of a jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claim where there are both basic and employability skills needs.
	Local Employment Partnerships (LEPs) ensure that disadvantaged customers get the preparation and training that enables them to meet employers' needs with the expectation that, in return, employers with vacancies give them a fair shot at getting a job.
	We are working jointly with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council to ensure that when people move into work they continue learning through apprenticeships or Train to Gain. This will enable them to remain in work and continue to progress.
	In addition, in response to the current economic downturn, the Government have announced that:
	Funding of £158 million has been made available through the European Social Fund for the Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain programme for people who are newly unemployed or facing redundancy to undertake training linked to opportunities in the local labour market.
	From April 2009 LEPs have been made available to all claimants from day one of unemployment.
	On 6 April we launched a significant package of help for jobseekers, including those with lower level skills, who find themselves out of work for six months or more. This support includes, amongst other things, access to 75,000 new work-focused training opportunities to help customers significantly increase their skills in order to enter work. The training, delivered on a part-time or full-time basis, will support people in progressing towards a full qualification.
	We have removed barriers to full-time training making it easier for long-term unemployed people to get access to new skills in order to compete for the local jobs on offer. The Government have put the funding arrangements in place to enable jobseekers at the six-month point in their claim to move to a training allowance in order to benefit from full-time intensive training of up to eight weeks, designed to meet employers' needs.
	The Budget 2009 announced a guaranteed offer of a job, work-focused training, or meaningful activity to all 18 to 24-year-olds as they approach the 12-month stage of their claim to jobseekers allowance (JSA).

Vocational Training

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent steps his Department has taken to assist unemployed people aged over 55 into work.

Jim Knight: The Government already provide back-to-work support for those wishing to re-enter the labour market, including those aged 50 and over, through Jobcentre Plus, local employer partnerships, the new deal and pathways to work. We intend to extend this as detailed in the Welfare Reform Bill.
	However, in response to the current economic downturn the Government have already committed £0.5 billion of additional support to help prevent people out of work from becoming long-term unemployed.
	We have doubled the resources available to the Rapid Response Service. The service offers support across the country for those people facing redundancy with immediate help and advice, including skills assessments and retraining, to ensure that people get back to work as soon as possible.
	Since April, financial incentives of up to £2,500 have been available to employers that recruit and train people who have been unemployed for six months or longer.
	We have also introduced extra funding for training places to help unemployed people learn new skills to maximise their chances of getting jobs from the 455,000 unfilled vacancies in the three months to April 2009. In addition there are opportunities to volunteer, to help people back into work habits, and help to start a business, with advice on creating a business plan plus funding for the first months of trading.
	A major factor in the employment of older people is employer behaviour. In addition to providing generic good practice guidance to employers, the UK's Age Positive initiative is working in partnership with business leaders to develop sector-based models of flexible retirement to support the increased employment and retention of older workers and the removal of fixed retirement ages.
	Our plans for the future include providing guidance to older workers on their options for working longer, encouraging employers to increase flexible work and phased retirement opportunities, a review of the Default Retirement Age in 2011—if it is found to be no longer needed it will be removed—monitoring the impact of the economic downturn to identify which groups are being most affected and targeting further help where it is most needed.

Welfare Reform Bill

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much is planned to be spent on drug treatment centres for rehabilitation provision arising under the provisions of the Welfare Reform Bill.

Jim Knight: The investment in drug treatment to support the drugs pilots will be met from within existing allocations.

Welfare Reform Bill

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether medical professionals will be employed by Jobcentre Plus to deal with claimants with drug-related problems following the implementation of the provision of the Welfare Reform Bill.

Jim Knight: holding answer 14 May 2009
	 Medical professionals will not be employed by Jobcentre Plus as part of the implementation of the new pilot regime for problem drug users in the Welfare Reform Bill. Substance-related assessments will be carried out locally by drug treatment specialists.

Welfare to Work: Standards

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will publish the results of the gap analysis in welfare-to-work provision undertaken by her Department.

Jim Knight: We have expanded significantly the support available to unemployed people. As part of putting that provision in place Jobcentre Plus reviewed any current or anticipated supplier issues.
	That snapshot covered information that must be treated 'Commercial in Confidence' and was the basis for detailed discussions with contractors to ensure that effective provision is in place.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer question 274723, tabled on 12 May 2009, on child maintenance.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 4 June 2009
	I replied to the hon. Member's question on 3 June 2009,  Official Report , column 537W.

TREASURY

Banks: Iceland

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on UK-Icelandic relations of the use of powers under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 to freeze assets of Icelandic banks; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: I have been asked to reply.
	We believe that it was right to take urgent action, using the statutory means available, to protect financial stability in the UK following the Icelandic banking collapse. It is very welcome therefore that agreement was reached on 5 June 2009 between the governments of Iceland, the Netherlands and the UK on the terms of bilateral loans that protect UK interests and are affordable for Iceland. This is a good agreement for all parties and opens the way to lift the Landsbanki freezing order.

Individual Savings Accounts

Mark Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to establish enforceable limits on the time taken to transfer cash ISAs between providers.

Ian Pearson: HM Revenue and Customs rules allow the existing ISA manager a maximum of 30 days to respond to the new manager's request and complete the transfer. HMRC published the results of a cross-industry working group on ISA transfers in their ISA bulletin of 26 August 2008, including guidelines to speed up the transfer of cash ISAs between providers and to improve the efficiency of the process.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 28 April 2009, on fuel tax PO Ref: 1/71584/2009.

Kitty Ussher: I have replied to the hon. Member.

TRANSPORT

A47: Cambridgeshire

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Minster of State, Department for Transport how many  (a) fatal and  (b) non-fatal accidents there were on the A47 between Guyhirn and the Thorney bypass in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Mole: The following table provides the number of  (a) fatal and  (b) non-fatal accidents on the A47 between Guyhirn and the Thorney Bypass from 1999 to 2008.
	
		
			   Number of fatal accidents  Number of non-fatal accidents 
			 1999 2 17 
			 2000 1 25 
			 2001 2 23 
			 2002 1 32 
			 2003 0 24 
			 2004 1 32 
			 2005 2 21 
			 2006 0 31 
			 2007 1 27 
			 2008(1) 0 20 
			 (1) Data not yet validated by Department for Transport.

Aviation

Tim Yeo: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  what recent discussions his Department has had with the National Air Traffic Service on the merits of stacking flights over the sea;
	(2)  what recent discussions  (a) he and  (b) officials of his Department have had with the Civil Aviation Authority on the feasibility of stacking flights landing at UK airports over the sea.

Paul Clark: Airspace planning and regulation is the responsibility of the independent regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The process for making changes to airspace is governed by the CAA's airspace change process. Under this process it is for airspace change sponsors, mostly NATS, other air navigation services providers and airports, to develop and consult upon proposals. Detailed guidance is given on what impacts are to be taken into account, advice on methods to assess the relative impact of changes and who should be consulted. Informed by the consultation, the airspace change sponsor submits the proposal to the CAA's directorate of airspace policy for assessment against regulatory requirements. In determining whether to accept or reject a proposal, the CAA's process reflects the Secretary of State's Directions and Guidance to the CAA on the exercise of its statutory duties and environmental objectives. Detailed information is available on the CAA's website at:
	www.caa.co.uk
	As part of NATS' on-going development of proposed changes to the area of airspace known as terminal control north, they are considering the location of, and procedures for arrivals routes and holds for Luton, Stansted and London City airports. Further details are available at:
	http://www.nats.co.uk/article/216/259/latest_update_on_tcn_ consultation.html
	No airspace change proposal has been submitted to the CAA.

Aviation

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  what recent progress has been made in the development of a universal consumer protection scheme for air travellers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of provisions for the protection of passengers affected by the sudden financial collapse of an airline;
	(3)  with reference to the answer of 21 October 2008,  Official Report, column 289W, on the XL Leisure Group, what steps have been taken to improve the experience of passengers in future airline or tour operator failures.

Paul Clark: The Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL) scheme organised by the Civil Aviation Authority fully protects passengers on package holidays if their airline, or other travel company, become insolvent.
	Passengers not on package holidays have two main options by which they can help protect themselves against airline insolvency if they so choose:
	(i) purchasing tickets by credit card, which in most cases will provide at least refund of any ticket that cannot be used;
	(ii) purchasing insurance against airline failure (available free-standing product or as part of some travel insurance policies).
	The Department for Transport recognises the complexity for consumers of airline insolvency protection arrangements. To help address this, we have placed guidance for holiday makers about the options available on the Directgov website
	www.direct.gov.uk/holidayprotection
	This guidance was prepared in conjunction with the air transport industry and the Civil Aviation Authority. It is supplemented with an information campaign which has generated press articles.
	The Department is now considering options for the reform of ATOL with a view to providing greater protection and clarity to consumers about what holidays are or are not covered by the scheme. A consultation is planned for later in 2009.
	The Government have no plans to provide statutory financial protection for all flights. They carefully considered an option to this effect in 2005, but rejected it as being disproportionate to the risks faced by consumers.

Bus Services

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  how many route miles of bus service were provided in England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) average cost to a passenger of a single bus journey and  (b) average length of a bus journey in miles in each year since 1997.

Sadiq Khan: Information on bus route mileage would be available only at disproportionate cost. Estimates of vehicle kilometres operated on local bus services for the years requested are available in Table A.
	
		
			  Table A: Local bus vehicle kilometres: England, 1997-98 to 2007-08 
			   Kilometres (million) 
			 1997-98 2,142 
			 1998-99 2,165 
			 1999-2000 2,183 
			 2000-01 2,158 
			 2001-02 2,129 
			 2002-03 2,122 
			 2003-04 2,109 
			 2004-05 2,109 
			 2005-06 2,096 
			 2006-07 2,190 
			 2007-08 2,286 
			  Source: Table C, Public Transport Statistics Bulletin GB: 2008 edition 
		
	
	The information on the average cost to a passenger of a single bus journey is not available, but estimates of the annual change in bus fares are shown in Table B.
	
		
			  Table B: Local bus fares index: England, 1997-98 to 2007-08 
			   Local bus fares index at constant prices( 1)  Local bus fares index at current prices 
			   Index (1995 = 100)  Year on year change (percentage)  Index (1995 = 100)  Year on year change (percentage) 
			 1997-98 104.7  111.5  
			 1998-99 106.0 1.2 116.4 4.4 
			 1999-2000 108.8 2.7 121.4 4.3 
			 2000-01 109.4 0.6 125.8 3.6 
			 2001-02 111.7 2.2 130.3 3.6 
			 2002-03 112.8 0.9 134.3 3.1 
			 2003-04 113.9 1.0 139.4 3.8 
			 2004-05 116.6 2.4 147.2 5.6 
			 2005-06 123.0 5.5 159.4 8.3 
			 2006-07 119.1 -3.2 160.1 0.4 
			 2007-08 120.8 1.4 169.1 5.6 
			 (1) Adjusted for general inflation using the Retail Prices Index based on values as at 1 January.  Source: Table G, Public Transport Statistics Bulletin GB 
		
	
	During the period covered by Table B, the introduction of the statutory concessionary travel scheme has meant that many passengers now travel for free on local buses.
	Information on the average length of bus stage can be found in Table C.
	
		
			  Table C: Average bus stage length: England, 1996-98 to 2006 
			   Miles 
			 1996-98 3.5 
			 1997-99 3.6 
			 1998-1000 3.7 
			 1999-01 3.8 
			 2002 3.9 
			 2003 3.9 
			 2004 3.7 
			 2005 3.9 
			 2006 4.0 
			  Source: National Travel Survey 
		
	
	The sample size for the National Travel Survey was nearly trebled from 2002 compared with previous years enabling results to be presented on a single year basis. Previously data were shown for three-year time periods because of the smaller sample size.

Departmental Billing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: Information on the proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt for the Department for Transport and its agencies (save for data for the Vehicle and Certification Agency) is only available from January 2009.
	The figures from January 2009 are set out in the table:
	
		
			  Department/agency  January 2009  February 2009  March 2009  April 2009  May 2009 
			 DFT Central Department 36.88 43.13 51.86 64.85 74.58 
			 Driving Standards Agency 35.91 49.64 55.60 67.24 67.67 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 31.57 31.06 28.55 75.15 81.41 
			 Highways Agency 75.16 79.75 73.18 26.15 79.73 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 92.53 93.80 95.23 94.60 92.69 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 80.20 86.98 87.71 91.82 92.61 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency 43.01 32.13 52.75 29.74 59.20 
			 Average 61.19 65.42 67.06 56.88 80.32 
			 (1) No data  Note: Figures exclude VCA data.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Minster of State, Department for Transport how many notifications his Department made to the Information Commissioner in the year ended 30 April 2009 in respect of the loss or mishandling of personal information or data; what was notified in each such case; and how many individuals were the subjects of personal information or data in respect of which such notifications were made.

Chris Mole: Under the mandatory requirements of the Data Handling Report published on 25 June 2008, the Department for Transport is required to give a summary report on data breaches reported to the Information Commissioner in our annual resource accounts.
	The Department for Transport has reported on personal data breaches in the 2007-2008 annual resource account and this can be found at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/publications/ei/secresaccs/resourceaccounts0708.pdf.
	We will be publishing information on personal data security breaches reported to the Information Commissioner for the 2008-09 reporting year before Parliament rises in July. The information is currently being compiled and is to be audited and verified before it is laid before Parliament.

Driving Tests: Motorcycles

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many candidates of each sex and age group  (a) took and  (b) passed the motorcycle driving test in each month since October 2008.

Paul Clark: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Driving: Licensing

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many complaints were received by  (a) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority and  (b) his Department about the processing of driving licence applications in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: The number of complaints received by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in relation to driving licences for each financial year was:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2008-09 1,208 
			 2007-08 1,101 
			 2006-07 959 
			 2005-06 667 
			 2004-05 812 
			 2003-04 1,028 
			 2002-03 684 
			 2001-02 553 
		
	
	Data for years prior to 2001 are not available. Complaints received by the Department for Transport are forwarded to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and these are included in the above figures. These volumes are not stored.

Driving: Working Hours

Alistair Burt: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what discussions he has had at EU level on proposals to extend the application of the European Regulation on drivers' hours to drivers of vehicles not exceeding 3.5 tonnes.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has had no discussions at EU level on any proposals to extend the EU drivers' hours rules to drivers of vehicles not exceeding 3.5 tonnes, since the negotiations on Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 were completed.

Electric Vehicles

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of electric vans and light commercial vehicles in use on public roads; and what plans he has to facilitate greater usage of vehicles.

Sadiq Khan: The number of electric light goods vehicles registered in Great Britain as at 31 December 2008 was 4,149.
	The Government have a number of policies in place to facilitate greater use of electric vehicles. Electric cars and vans are exempt from vehicle excise duty and fuel duty. Businesses which purchase electric and low carbon cars can claim enhanced capital allowances and people who use electric cars as their company car pay the lowest rate of benefit in kind.
	In addition to these fiscal measures the Government recently announced a £250 million scheme to support the purchase of electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars. This scheme will take effect from 2011 onwards and will help reduce the price of these cars to consumers by £2 to 5,000. The Department for Transport's low carbon vehicle procurement programme is also supporting the demonstration of low carbon and all-electric vans in the public sector and the winners of the procurement exercise for this project will be announced shortly.

Highways Agency: Collective Bargaining

John McDonnell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport whether all staff working in the Highways Agency are covered by collective bargaining arrangements.

Chris Mole: All staff for whom the Highways Agency has delegated pay responsibility (staff below senior civil service) are covered by collective bargaining arrangements. The Highways Agency seeks to reach agreement with the unions through collective bargaining and does not have a policy of persuading, encouraging or trying to get staff to opt out of collective bargaining. In relation to the Highways Agency's 2008 pay offer, agreement with the unions was not possible and internal bargaining mechanisms had been exhausted. The Highways Agency invited individual members of senior staff below the senior civil service (HA Grades PB8/PB7/TM3), to voluntarily opt in to new reward and performance management arrangements. These staff remain covered by collective bargaining arrangements.

Level Crossings: Hearing Impaired

David Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent representations he has received on hearing-impaired people and safety at level crossings on railways; what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on safety at railway level crossings for hearing-impaired people; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: No direct representations on this subject have been made to the Secretary of State for Transport recently. However, we are aware of the concerns of disabled people with the operation of level crossings, through regular liaison with the disabled persons transport advisory committee: the Government's statutory advisors on the transport needs of disabled people, which includes representatives of people with impaired hearing.
	As part of their £10 million annual research programme, funded by the Department for Transport, the Rail Safety and Standards Board will shortly be commissioning a research project into this subject, entitled "T650-Improving safety and accessibility at level crossings for disabled pedestrians".
	Network Rail is currently planning for the next generation of level crossing designs and the Rail Safety and Standards Board's research, which should report in 2010, aims to find out what specific facilities for disabled pedestrians should be included in order to improve accessibility and reduce risk. The disabled persons transport advisory committee was involved in establishing the scope of this project, and they, and other groups, will be involved as the work is taken forward.

Lorries: Vetting

Chris Grayling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many drivers of heavy goods vehicles carrying hazardous liquid fuels have been security vetted in each of the last three years; what the nationalities were of such drivers; and how many such drivers were not given security clearance.

Paul Clark: The Government do not mandate national security vetting background checks for drivers of heavy goods vehicles and the data requested are therefore not available. However, the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations, in line with EC requirements, set out a range of physical and personnel security measures designed to protect vehicles carrying dangerous goods, and their loads, from potential terrorist threats. These regulations are supported by detailed guidance to industry, including advice on pre-employment checks of drivers and other categories of staff who may potentially pose a risk. On the basis of this guidance companies develop and deliver their own personnel security regimes to manage the risks to their businesses.
	Following Stephen Boys Smith's review of personnel security in the transport sector, the Department for Transport is working with industry to review existing personnel security regimes to ensure they remain proportionate to the threat.

M25

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on what date each cost increase for the M25 design, build, finance and operate widening project was approved by Ministers.

Chris Mole: Ministers approved an increase in the cost of the two widening schemes (between junctions 16 and 23, and between junctions 27 and 30) that form part of the M25 Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) Contract, on 27 July 2007.
	Ministers approved a maximum expected cost of the M25 DBFO Contract itself on 1 April 2009. The contract was awarded within this figure on 20 May 2009.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Roads plans to reply to the email from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 8 May 2009, about shared surface, Ref: JF/PC/012668/09.

Sadiq Khan: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State replied to the hon. Member in a letter dated 18 May 2009.

Railways: Bus Services

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what assessment he has made of the decision by South West Trains to cancel the Bordon-Liphook rail link bus; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The Rail Link bus service between Liphook and Bordon is not a commitment within the South West Trains Franchise Agreement and Stagecoach South West Trains are therefore under no obligation to continue to provide this facility.
	As such, no assessment has been made due to this being a commercial decision to be managed by Stagecoach South West Trains.

Road Signs and Markings

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of installing overhead line warning signs on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible in each of the last three years; and how many such signs have been installed;
	(2)  how many  (a) accidents and  (b) other incidents involving vehicles hitting overhead lines on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible have been reported in each of the last 10 years; and how many such incidents have involved the emergency services;
	(3)  on what date the decision was taken to install overhead line warning signs on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible; who took the decision; and what cost-benefit analysis of installing overhead line warning signs was undertaken.

Chris Mole: holding answer 9 June 2009
	The estimate of cost to the public purse of installing overhead line warning signs on roads for which the Highways Agency is responsible is shown in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Cost estimate (£)  Number of signs installed 
			 2008-09 116,770 1,579 
			 2007-08 31,500 960 
			 2006-07 0 0 
		
	
	The number of accidents and other incidents involving vehicles hitting overhead lines on Highways Agency roads over the last 10 years is shown in Table 2.
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Number of accidents  Number of other incidents  Emergency services involved? 
			 2008/09 0 2 Yes 
			   1 near miss No 
			 2007/08(1) 0 0 n/a 
			 2006/07(1) 0 1 Yes 
			 2005/06(1) 0 0 n/a 
			 2004/05(1) 0 0 n/a 
			 2003/04(1) 0 0 n/a 
			 2002/03(1) 0 0 n/a 
			 2001/02(1) 2 fatalities 1 Yes 
			 2000/01(1) 0 0 n/a 
			 1999/2000(1) 0 0 n/a 
			 (1) Data not available from all regions and cited figure denotes value derived from incomplete or unavailable data 
		
	
	There was no decision of general policy taken to install overhead line warning signs on Highways Agency roads.
	Overhead line warning signs were first installed in the north-east region in two stages. The first phase on the southern part of that area of the Highways Agency network was approved in 2005-06 and the second phase for the remainder of the north-east network in 2007-08. Approval was given by the Highways Agency's regional director.
	Decisions to install overhead line warning signs are made regionally, based on technical assessment and need.
	The initiative in the north-east was introduced in response to a fatal accident that occurred on a construction site on the A66 in 2002 when two construction operatives were killed, having come into contact with an overhead power cable while working on a lighting gantry.
	A detailed cost benefit analysis for the installation of overhead warning signs has not been undertaken.

Roads: Accidents

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many victims of hit-and-run incidents have  (a) claimed and  (b) obtained compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: No official statistics are gathered which address this question directly.
	Claims made to the Motor Insurers Bureau under the Untraced Drivers Agreement are not restricted to hit and run incidents but can be made in respect of any incident where the identity of the driver is not known.
	The Motor Insurers Bureau estimates that the number of claims made in the past four years under the Untraced Drivers Agreement is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005 15,862 
			 2006 16,242 
			 2007 15,227 
			 2008 15,096 
		
	
	The number of claims that have been settled in the past four years is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2005 13,336 
			 2006 15,137 
			 2007 15,382 
			 2008 15,254 
		
	
	These figures relate to the year in which the claim was finally settled, not to the date of the claim. Claims are not necessarily settled in the calendar year in which the claim is made.

Transport: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps his Department has taken to improve  (a) rail transport links and  (b) other elements of transport infrastructure in Coventry.

Sadiq Khan: The Government have invested in long-term public transport improvements in and around Coventry. Funding provided to local authorities in the West Midlands conurbation, including Coventry, for local transport capital projects has increased from £22 million in 2000-01 to over £51 million in 2009-10.
	Coventry has benefited from the £8.8 billion investment in the West Coast Main Line upgrade. Since December 2008, Coventry rail users have seen an improved frequency of intercity services from Birmingham to London from two to three per hour and an increase in rail services from Birmingham to Northampton from one to two trains per hour. Coventry is now served by seven trains per hour to Birmingham.
	With regard to other transport infrastructure in and around Coventry, we have invested over £28 million in the Coventry Primelines Bus Network scheme, a package of improvements aimed at improving bus travel in Coventry. Coventry is also benefiting from over £50 million of investment across the West Midlands conurbation in upgrading the Urban Traffic Control Centre and the first phase of the Red Routes network.

Transport: East of England

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage bicycle usage in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much funding his Department has allocated for the development of environmentally-friendly means of transportation in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how much funding his Department allocated to transport networks used primarily for tourism in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how much funding his Department allocated for transport connections with nature parks in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England region in each year since 1997.

Sadiq Khan: Funding provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) to local transport authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Figures are not available at constituency level.
	The Department provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Allocations provided to Bedfordshire county council and the eastern region, since 1997, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  (£ millions) 
			   Bedfordshire  Eastern Region 
			 2008-09 9.286 157.771 
			 2007-08 7.751 159.476 
			 2006-07 9.573 157.826 
			 2005-06 9.351 156.899 
			 2004-05 8.001 156.586 
			 2003-04 7.364 141.735 
			 2002-03 6.591 140.193 
			 2001-02 7.147 137.774 
			 2000-01 4.017 56.608 
			 1999-2000 4.602 52.125 
			 1998-99 3.070 32.150 
			 1997-98 3.692 41.203 
			  Note: Since 2000 the allocations comprise integrated transport block grant and highways maintenance. Prior to 2000 the allocations are in the form of gross approved spending. 
		
	
	Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's Formula Grant.
	In addition to this funding, DfT has made some funding available specifically to support cycling. In 2007-08 and 2008-09, DfT provided £6,720 and £32,000 respectively to Bedfordshire county council to fund cycling training. In 2009-10, following the local authority boundary changes, Bedford borough are due to receive £28,000, and central Bedfordshire £35,240 to fund 700 and 881 training places respectively.

Transport: Merseyside

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport 
	(1)  how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage bicycle usage in  (a) Crosby and  (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how much funding his Department allocated for transport connections with nature parks in  (a) Crosby and  (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how much funding his Department allocated to transport networks used primarily for tourism in  (a) Crosby and  (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how much funding his Department allocated for the development of environmentally-friendly means of transportation in  (a) Crosby and  (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997.

Sadiq Khan: Funding provided by the Department for Transport (DFT) to local transport authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Figures are not available at constituency level.
	The Department provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Crosby falls into the transport authority of Sefton metropolitan borough council. The allocations provided to Sefton metropolitan borough council and Merseyside as a whole, since 1997, are shown in the table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Sefton  Merseyside 
			 2008-09 5,029 45,941 
			 2007-08 4,244 46,532 
			 2006-07 4,302 43,286 
			 2005-06 4,095 49,454 
			 2004-05 5,345 60,208 
			 2003-04 9,785 61,298 
			 2002-03 7,357 47,395 
			 2001-02 5,136 45,164 
			 2000-01 2,847 22,967 
			 1999-00 — 24,946 
			 1998-99 — 20,063 
			 1997-98 — 21,313 
			  Note: Since 2000 the allocations comprise integrated transport block grant and highways maintenance. Prior to 2000 the allocations are in the form of gross approved spending. 
		
	
	Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's Formula Grant.
	In addition to this funding, DFT has made some funding available specifically to support cycling. In 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 DFT provided £250,000, £346,000 and £440,000 respectively to Merseyside to fund cycling training. In total Merseyside received £1,036,000 in grants, which will fund 25,900 cycle training places between 2007 and 2010.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made in controlling the spread of bovine tuberculosis among cattle.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 9 June 2009
	Since November 2008 DEFRA has been working alongside representatives of the farming industry and the veterinary profession as part of the Bovine TB Eradication Group for England. The Group is examining a range of policies and will make recommendations to the Secretary of State on establishing a programme which will enable Government and the industry to move towards eventual eradication of the disease in this country.
	Bovine TB is a complex and chronic disease and, in addition to the long-standing and vital cattle control measures in place, we have implemented a wide-ranging programme of research. This includes work on improving diagnosis, gaining a better understanding of how the disease is spread and pursuing the future use of vaccination of cattle and wildlife, through vaccine research, and the development of a badger vaccine deployment project.

Council for the Protection of Rural England

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Council for the Protection of Rural England on its Keep Britain Tidy Day initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: In April 2008 the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) launched their three-year, anti-litter and fly tipping campaign in England's countryside—'Stop The Drop'. The Government welcome this contribution to raising awareness of litter issues. CPRE has worked closely with DEFRA's grant-aided delivery partner, Keep Britain Tidy, to help expand its activities and collaborate on the Big Tidy Up campaign encouraging communities and individuals to get involved, and take an interest, in improving their neighbourhood.
	CPRE officials have met DEFRA Ministers and officials on several occasions in the last few months.

Dairy Farming: Finance

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department allocated for the support of dairy farmers in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England in each year since 1997.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department has allocated for the support of dairy farmers in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Unfortunately, the data required to provide dairy farmers' funding information by region and for earlier years are not held in a form that is easily accessible. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Dairy Farming: Government Assistance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to assist dairy farmers during the economic downturn.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government are helping the dairy industry help itself adjust to some of the challenges it faces, for example through the Dairy Supply Chain Forum. The forum is engaged in an extensive programme of work, looking at issues including barriers to innovation, supply and demand, as well as efficiency at farm level.
	The future prospects for the dairy industry are encouraging, and growth in global demand is expected to return. The UK is well placed to take advantage of this. The British dairy sector is fundamentally sound and the efficiency improvements, innovation and investment in new products mean that in the medium to long term, the sector can do very well.

Dairy Farming: Merseyside

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department allocated for the support of dairy farmers in  (a) Crosby and  (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The data required to provide dairy farmers' funding information by region and for earlier years are not held in a form that is easily accessible. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Dairy Products

Gavin Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of  (a) liquid milk,  (b) butter and  (c) cheese was (i) produced in and (ii) consumed in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 9 June 2009
	The volume of drinking milk, butter and cheese produced in the UK and the volume available for consumption in the UK is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Liquid drinking milk  Butter  Cheese 
			   Production (million litres)  Available for consumption (million litres)  Production (thousand tonnes)  Available for consumption (thousand tonnes)  Production (thousand tonnes)  Available for consumption (thousand tonnes) 
			 1998 6,768 6,800 137 177 367 569 
			 1999 6,889 6,820 141 192 370 586 
			 2000 6,793 6,759 132 201 341 538 
			 2001 6,748 6,775 126 200 395 601 
			 2002 6,825 6,806 136 209 371 574 
			 2003 6,753 6,597 131 207 351 577 
			 2004 6,693 6,497 122 208 359 600 
			 2005 6,652 6,213 130 219 391 648 
			 2006 6,736 6,309 117 226 400 674 
			 2007 6,724 6,388 120 195 378 684 
			 2008 6,722 6,468 113 171 378 697 
			  Source:  Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2008, DEFRA.

Litter

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect on  (a) street cleanliness,  (b) the welfare of wildlife and  (c) the incidence of crime and anti-social behaviour of levels of littering.

Jim Fitzpatrick: DEFRA funds Keep Britain Tidy (formerly known as ENCAMS) to carry out the annual Local Environment Quality Survey of England which looks at 32 local environmental quality issues, including the most commonly found items of litter discarded on the street and general cleanliness. The results for the seventh survey were published in March 2009 and are available on the Keep Britain Tidy website at
	www.keepbritaintidy.org
	Litter can be harmful to wildlife and some studies have suggested a link between high levels of litter and crime. DEFRA has made no separate assessment of the effects of litter on wildlife or on the incidence of crime and antisocial behaviour.

Livestock: Finance

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding his Department has allocated for the support of livestock farmers in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each year since 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Unfortunately, the data required to provide livestock farmers' funding information by region and for earlier years are not held in a form that is easily accessible. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the Government Office for London's performance in implementing the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government office for London, as well as all of the other Government offices, has co-ordinated the implementation of several projects to support the Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative (PSFPI) since its inception in 2003. In London the projects have ranged from: events and workshops for caterers, chefs and food buyers; guidance and promotional material; one-to-one support for individual London boroughs; to a project in 2008-09 focusing on researching the opportunities to expand the reach of PSFPI in London. Progress reports on the PSFPI projects carried out by the Government offices can be found on the DEFRA website.
	In addition, an independent evaluation completed in March found that the PSFPI has had a positive impact on public sector food procurement. Evidence of this success is presented in the report. The report also made a number of recommendations on how performance could be improved and we are considering how to take these forward. A copy of the evaluation is on the DEFRA website.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) special advisers and  (b) officials accompanied her to Glasgow for the Cabinet meeting on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The then Secretary of State was accompanied by a special adviser. For information relating to the Cabinet and public engagement event held in Glasgow on 16 April 2009 I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2009,  Official Report, column 487W.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what car journeys she took in attending the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The then Secretary of State took the following car journeys:
	(1) From her hotel in the city centre to FARE (Family Action in Rogerfield and Easterhouse) in Easterhouse, including a guided car tour of Easterhouse and Rogerfield
	(2) From FARE to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) where the Cabinet meeting was held.
	(3) From the SECC to Glasgow Central train station.
	For information relating to the Cabinet and public engagement event held in Glasgow on 16 April I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2009,  Official Report, column 487W.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much expenditure was incurred by her Department in respect of the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The expenditure incurred was £871.

Cabinet: Glasgow

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what expenditure on  (a) travel,  (b) accommodation and  (c) food (i) she and (ii) officials in her Department incurred in connection with the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information is as follows:
	 (i) The costs incurred for the then Secretary of State's visit to Glasgow were:
	 (a) travel—£497
	 (b) accommodation—£78
	 (c) no additional costs were claimed for food.
	 (ii) The costs incurred for her special adviser were:
	 (a) travel—£218
	 (b) accommodation—£78
	 (c) no additional costs were claimed for food.

Departmental Billing

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of invoices his Department and its agencies paid within 10 days of receipt in each of the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The number and proportion of invoices paid by CLG and its agencies within 10 days in each of the months since these data have been collected against the 10-day target is as follows:
	
		
			  Month  Number of invoices paid within 10 days  Percentage of invoices received which were paid within 10 days 
			 November 2008 3,442 77.89 
			 December 2008 3,248 85.23 
			 January 2009 4,935 86.22 
			 February 2009 4,997 88.11 
			 March 2009 6,638 88.33 
			 April 2009 4,515 83.55 
			 May 2009 3,876 91.83

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many notifications his Department made to the Information Commissioner in the year ended 30 April 2009 in respect of the loss or mishandling of personal information or data; what was notified in each such case; and how many individuals were the subjects of personal information or data in respect of which such notifications were made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No such notifications have been made by the Department for Communities and Local Government in the 12 months to 30 April 2009.

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been (i) disciplined and (ii) dismissed for (A) breaches of data protection requirements and (B) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No officials in CLG, or its agencies, have been either disciplined or dismissed for breaches of data protection or inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last 12 months.

European Regional Development Fund

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to page 18 of the Government response to the Communities and Local Government Committee's Report on the Department for Communities and Local Government's Annual Report 2008, Cm. 7614, if he will place in the Library a copy of the comprehensive ERDF User Manual.

Rosie Winterton: I will arrange for the ERDF User Manual to be placed in the Library.

Food: Greater London

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment has been made of the Government Office for London's performance in meeting its objectives in relation to the London Food Strategy.

Rosie Winterton: As the London Food Strategy is owned by the Mayor of London, it is for the Mayor to assess progress on the priority objectives.

Government Office for London: Pay

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was paid in bonuses to  (a) directors,  (b) senior managers,  (c) specialist and delivery managers and  (d) executive support and administration staff at the Government Office for London in each year from 2001-02 to 2008-09.

Rosie Winterton: The tables set out the total performance bonuses paid to GOL staff from 2004-05. Information broken down as requested is not available prior to 2004-05 because of a change in the Government office network accounting system.
	
		
			  GOL bonus data—amounts payable 
			  £ 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Directors and deputy directors (senior managers) 32,824 35,843 56,239 90,579 52,300 
			 Specialists 1,675 1,100 2,269 4,250 3,557 
			 All other staff 85,472 96,160 121,383 141,776 120,641 
			 Total for year 119,971 133,103 179,891 236,605 176,498 
		
	
	
		
			  GOL bonus data—staff in receipt of a bonus 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Directors and deputy directors (senior managers) 5 8 10 11 7 
			 Specialists 5 1 3 3 3 
			 All other staff 145 75 127 125 107 
			 Total for year 155 84 140 139 117

Local Government Delivery Council

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) remit and  (b) membership of the Local Government Delivery Council is.

Rosie Winterton: The Local Government Delivery Council (LGDC) drives forward local service transformation. It is part of local government's commitment to delivering services that meet the needs and expectations of citizens and businesses.
	The LGDC provides a forum where national activity around transformation can be brought together, monitored and developed. The council was established in 2007 under the auspices of the Local Government Association (LGA). It held its first meeting in September 2007 and now meets quarterly.
	Current members of the LGDC are as follows:
	 Local authority representatives
	Janet Callender, Chair of LDC
	Steve Baker, Chief Executive, Suffolk Coastal District Council, East of England region
	Pat Harding, Corporate Director, Customer Service and Transformation, Cambridge County Council, East of England region
	Dave Smith, Chief Executive, Sunderland City Council, North East region
	Bill Murphy, Corporate Director of Resources, London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, London region
	Glyn Evans, Assistant Director on Transformation to the Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands region
	Maura Brooks, Chief Officer for ICT, Leeds City Council, Yorkshire and Humberside region
	Donna Hall, Chief Executive, Chorley Borough Council, North West region
	David Hill, Chief Executive, Ashford Borough Council, South East region
	Peter Sloman Chief Executive, Oxford City Council South East region
	Caroline Tapster, Chief Executive, Hertfordshire County Council, East of England region
	John Everitt, Chief Executive, Bath and North East Somerset, South West region
	Lyn Martin-Bennison, Chief Executive, Borough Council of Wellingborough, East Midland region
	Tim Rainey, Assistant Chief Executive Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, North West Region
	 Stakeholder representatives
	Andrew Campbell Director, Local Strategic Partnerships and Performance, Communities and Local Government
	Stephen Jones, Director for Finance, Local Government Association
	Sarah Fogden, Deputy Director Service Transformation, Public Service Reform Unit, Cabinet Office
	John Hayes, Director Local Government Services, IDeA
	John Blundell, Deputy Director, Government Office Network/Regional Coordination Unit
	Siobhan Coughlan, Secretariat for LGDC, IDeA
	 Central Government departmental representatives
	Tim O'Connor, Care and Efficiency Delivery Programme, Department of Health
	Lyn McDonald, Tell Us Once Programme Director, Department for Work and Pensions
	Trevor Huddlestone, Strategy Director, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
	 Other representatives
	Maggie Jones, Chief Executive, Children England

Regional Government: Finance

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the operating budget was of each regional Government office for  (a) salaries,  (b) accommodation,  (c) non-salary expenditure and  (d) non-cash expenditure in each year from 2001-02 to 2008-09.

Rosie Winterton: The total operating budgets for 2001-02 and 2002-03 are included in the following table, though as this pre-dates our current accounting system we cannot provide the breakdown requested.
	
		
			  £ 000 
			  GO  2001-02  2002-03 
			 East 8,632 9,356 
			 East Midlands 8,245 8,713 
			 London 1,3161 14,039 
			 North East 9,002 9,954 
			 North West 15,345 15,524 
			 South East 10,326 10,875 
			 South West 10,667 11,861 
			 West Midlands 10,296 10,663 
			 Yorks and Humber 10,037 10,944 
		
	
	The operating budget cost figures for the Government Offices for financial years 2003-04 to 2008-09 are as shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  Salary costs 
			  £000 
			  GO  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East 7,984 9,506 9,972 9,559 8,513 8,010 
			 East Midlands 8,130 9,042 9,438 9,016 8,063 7,892 
			 London 10,845 13,684 13,619 12,940 11,972 11,415 
			 North East 9,024 10,214 10,453 10,209 9,289 9,190 
			 North West 10,709 12,380 12,669 12,502 11,216 10,462 
			 South East 9,933 11,200 11,820 11,490 11,409 10,301 
			 South West 9,396 10,934 11,174 10,549 9,869 9,160 
			 West Midlands 9,234 10,008 9,967 9,736 9,477 9,531 
			 Yorks and Humber 8,722 10,005 10,094 9,372 8,678 8,276 
		
	
	
		
			  Accommodation 
			  £ 000 
			  GO  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East 2,730 3,155 2,493 2,372 2,179 58 
			 East Midlands 1,118 1,491 1,601 1,508 1,288 10 
			 London 3,235 4,001 3,983 4,054 3,863 40 
			 North East 913 2,361 2,285 2,408 2,663 154 
			 North West 3,063 3,885 3,190 3,223 3,266 8 
			 South East 2,042 1,858 1,897 1,599 1,715 133 
			 South West 1,975 3,206 3,337 3,619 3,892 19 
			 West Midlands 2,081 3,354 3,072 4,265 4,917 53 
			 Yorks and Humber 1,608 2,220 2,366 3,912 3,889 0 
			  Note:  Re-organisation of the Government Office Network in 2008-09 has resulted in the centralisation of accommodation costs. These are managed centrally and are no longer a part of the GO budgets. The accommodation budget for 2008-09 (Gross) was £28,460,866. 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-salary 
			  £ 000 
			  GO  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East 1,891 2,223 1,510 1,122 1,182 1,315 
			 East Midlands 1,709 1,693 2,172 1,336 1,535 1,194 
			 London 2,577 2,312 2,062 1,391 910 997 
			 North East 2,233 1,785 1,162 991 725 1,371 
			 North West 2,973 2,939 2,658 1,871 2,228 2,042 
			 South East 2,130 1,894 1,667 1,379 557 581 
			 South West 2,601 2,755 1,510 1,996 1,384 1,369 
			 West Midlands 2,064 2,044 1,546 1,052 789 1,509 
			 Yorks and Humber 1,955 1,996 1,885 2,056 1,037 1,039 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-cash 
			  £ 000 
			  GO  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 East 137 867 45 29 0 0 
			 East Midlands 8 238 120 276 513 58 
			 London 0 77 245 327 274 0 
			 North East 3 76 137 201 143 0 
			 North West 12 216 116 109 106 7 
			 South East 6 72 131 125 125 2 
			 South West 101 225 136 115 66 7 
			 West Midlands 3 329 403 481 345 3 
			 Yorks and Humber 13 30 85 93 143 0

Regional Government: Manpower

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) directors,  (b) senior managers,  (c) specialist and delivery managers and  (d) executive support and administration staff there were in each regional Government office in each year from 2001-02 to 2008-09.  [Official Report, 26 June 2009, Vol. 494, c. 5MC.]

Rosie Winterton: Each of the nine Government offices in the English regions are led by a regional director who is supported by deputy regional directors and mainstream civil servants working in grades from grade 6 to administrative assistant. Consequently the figures quantify staff numbers by those grades.
	Prior to 2003 the personnel management arrangements for senior civil service staff (regional directors and deputy regional directors) working within the network were the responsibility of their employing departments. Consequently GO network records are not available prior to 2003.
	Based upon staff in post figures GO staff, including fixed term appointments, casual employees and those staff temporarily away from the office (eg on maternity leave or career break) in April of each year specified, the table below gives the figures requested.
	
		
			  Government office   Regional directors  Deputy regional directors (senior management)  Grade 6—higher executive officer(specialist and delivery managers)  Executive officer—admin asst (executive and administrative support) 
			 East of England 2001-02 1 (1)— 86 102 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 86 115 
			  2003-04 1 5 123 121 
			  2004-05 1 6 142 143 
			  2005-06 1 4 144 135 
			  2006-07 1 4 152 115 
			  2007-08 1 4 141 75 
			  2008-09 1 5 144 50 
			   
			 East Midlands 2001-02 1 (1)— 91 139 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 113 137 
			  2003-04 1 4 133 150 
			  2004-05 1 5 158 148 
			  2005-06 1 3 160 135 
			  2006-07 1 4 146 120 
			  2007-08 1 7 124 87 
			  2008-09 1 7 119 77 
			   
			 London 2001-02 1 (1)— 158 153 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 162 140 
			  2003-04 1 8 199 142 
			  2004-05 1 8 235 133 
			  2005-06 1 9 208 122 
			  2006-07 1 9 177 102 
			  2007-08 1 9 157 77 
			  2008-09 1 8 157 77 
			   
			 North East 2001-02 1 (1)— 102 160 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 115 175 
			  2003-04 1 3 122 182 
			  2004-05 1 5 147 191 
			  2005-06 1 5 156 174 
			  2006-07 1 3 137 169 
			  2007-08 1 6 129 124 
			  2008-09 1 6 134 101 
			   
			 North West 2001-02 1 (1)— 148 240 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 115 217 
			  2003-04 1 5 162 208 
			  2004-05 1 9 175 203 
			  2005-06 1 8 175 189 
			  2006-07 1 7 179 178 
			  2007-08 1 8 150 129 
			  2008-09 1 8 139 110 
			   
			 South East 2001-02 1 (1)— 122 146 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 148 156 
			  2003-04 1 6 148 148 
			  2004-05 1 8 185 152 
			  2005-06 1 7 191 143 
			  2006-07 1 4 171 227 
			  2007-08 1 6 159 110 
			  2008-09 1 7 160 84 
			   
			 South West 2001-02 1 (1)— 110 158 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 124 171 
			  2003-04 1 6 141 163 
			  2004-05 1 6 174 188 
			  2005-06 1 5 169 179 
			  2006-07 1 6 159 151 
			  2007-08 1 7 144 117 
			  2008-09 1 8 142 87 
			   
			 West Midlands 2001-02 1 (1)— 113 190 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 112 179 
			  2003-04 1 5 128 205 
			  2004-05 1 6 144 193 
			  2005-06 1 2 145 185 
			  2006-07 1 4 132 151 
			  2007-08 1 4 128 121 
			  2008-09 1 4 138 97 
			   
			 Yorkshire and Humber 2001-02 1 (1)— 104 161 
			  2002-03 1 (1)— 107 168 
			  2003-04 1 7 118 164 
			  2004-05 1 7 154 162 
			  2005-06 1 5 150 153 
			  2006-07 1 7 142 139 
			  2007-08 1 8 116 114 
			  2008-09 1 9 117 91 
			 (1) Information not available

Regional Ministers: Official Engagements

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the official engagements of  (a) the Minister for London,  (b) the Minister for Yorkshire and the Humber,  (c) the Minister for the South East,  (d) the Minister for the North West,  (e) the Minister for the East of England,  (f) the Minister for the East Midlands,  (g) the Minister for the South West,  (h) the Minister for the North East and  (i) the Minister for the West Midlands in their roles as regional ministers were between (i) 1 and 31 March, (ii) 1 and 30 April and (iii) 1 and 31 May 2009.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children in Care: Missing Persons

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children went missing from care homes in each local authority area in each year from 1999 to 2003.

Dawn Primarolo: The information has been placed in the House Libraries.
	Information on the number of looked after children that went missing from care homes was not collected in 1999 and 2000.

Children in Care: Personal Records

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 7 May 2009,  Official Report, column 413W, on children in care: personal records, what penalties local authorities may incur for not keeping children's records for the required amount of time.

Dawn Primarolo: Where a local authority failed to comply with regulations by not keeping children's records for the required time, then the person(s) whose records were lost would be entitled to take legal action to seek whatever redress is judged to be appropriate from the authority concerned.

Children: Abuse

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many representations he has received on the allegations of child abuse at Kendall House.

Dawn Primarolo: Since August 2008, the Department has received 42 emails and two letters related to allegations of abuse at Kendall House.

Departmental Billing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average number of days taken to pay an invoice by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its executive agencies was in each month since November 2008.

Diana Johnson: The Department for Children, Schools and Families does not hold readily available information on the average number of days to pay an invoice. This information cannot be extracted from existing payment performance data without incurring disproportionate cost to the Department.
	However, the following table shows the proportion of all invoices paid by the Department within 10 working days, following the announcement by the Prime Minister in October 2008.
	
		
			  Date  Number of invoices  Percentage 
			 November 2008 3,588 91.6 
			 December 2008 3,712 90.1 
			 January 2009 3,629 91.8 
			 February 2009 4,195 92.5 
			 March 2009 5,500 93.2 
			 April 2009 3,947 84.1 
			 May 2009 3,061 92.0 
		
	
	The Department does not have any executive agencies.

Family Courts: Grandparents

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) recent discussions he has had and  (b) discussions he has planned with the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on ensuring that family court proceedings include the examination of the relationship between grandparents and children.

Dawn Primarolo: The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families has had no discussions with the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) on the issue of the relationship between grandparents and children in court proceedings and none are planned on this issue.
	CAFCASS has a statutory remit to ensure that the best interests of the child are protected and that children are not put at risk. It is for local authorities to explore kinship care and placements with the wider family in public law care cases and for CAFCASS to explore whether extended family placement options have been properly considered and assessed.
	CAFCASS, in family court cases, often need to consider the relevance of a child's attachment to one or more grandparents and to promote both contact and residence options where these are in the child's best interests.

Rehabilitation: Lincolnshire

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 20 May 2009,  Official Report, column 1434W, on rehabilitation: Lincolnshire, how much of the  (a) £24.7 million and  (b) matched additional funds for drugs and alcohol treatment is being provided for residential treatment for under-18s.

Dawn Primarolo: That information is not held centrally. The £24.7 million pooled treatment budget is allocated to local authorities to enable them to commission treatment services according to the local needs of young people. Additional funds from the Primary Care Trust and the Area Based Grant are also used to fund specialist treatment services where appropriate.
	For the vast majority of young people under 18 community-based services are the most appropriate option. There are a total of 35 residential places available across the country that is able to support young people with substance misuse and other complex needs. In addition, local authorities can arrange a package of support that combines specialist drug treatment with specialist children's home, fostering places or other supported accommodation.

Schools: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding the Government allocated to increasing parental engagement in schools in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to supporting parental engagement. That support can take many forms at a local level, such as targeted support and family learning. In the Children's Plan: Progress Report published in December 2008 we outlined further measures to support parents, schools and early years settings in engaging parents as partners in their children's learning—comprising action to support parents and to prioritise parental engagement throughout the education system.
	It is important that support for parental engagement is embedded in the day to day work of professionals in schools and early years settings and is established as part of the core business of those organisations.
	This means a variety of funding routes should be used to support parental engagement. However, the main initiatives that cover parental engagement in schools are extended services including parent support advisors and family learning interventions.
	Because parental engagement is only one element of extended services and decisions are made locally about spending and priorities, it is only possible to give overall government funding on these programmes for this area. Details of funding for these programmes since their inception are set out in the following table.
	It is not possible to provide figures for Castle Point as it is a district of Essex and funding is only provided to local authorities.
	
		
			   Extended services( 1)  Family learning( 2) 
			  Essex   
			 2003-04(3) n/a 0 
			 2004-05 n/a 0 
			 2005-06 1,949,295 0 
			 2006-07 3,797,326 0 
			 2007-08 4,667,039 0 
			 2008-09 5,172,358 44,541 
			 2009-10 7,514,337 — 
			 2010-11 6,190,553 — 
			 (1 )Is made up of start up, sustainability and subsidy funding. Subsidy funding is only in 2008 to 2010 and has not been allocated for 2010 yet. The sustainability line includes funding for PSAs from 2008 onwards. (2 )Allocation for 2009 onwards has not been decided yet. (3 )The funding from 2003 to 2006 is for full service extended schools and includes allocation for start up, co-ordinators and child care.

Schools: Merseyside

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated to increasing parental engagement in schools in  (a) Crosby and  (b) Merseyside in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to supporting parental engagement. That support can take many forms at a local level, such as targeted support and family learning. In the Children's Plan: Progress Report published in December 2008 we outlined further measures to support parents, schools and early years settings in engaging parents as partners in their children's learning—comprising action to support parents and to prioritise parental engagement throughout the education system.
	It is important that support for parental engagement is embedded in the day to day work of professionals in schools and early years settings and is established as part of the core business of those organisations.
	This means a variety of funding routes should be used to support parental engagement. However, the main initiatives that cover parental engagement in schools are extended services including parent support advisors and family learning interventions.
	Because parental engagement is only one element of extended services and decisions are made locally about spending and priorities, it is only possible to give overall government funding on these programmes for this area. Details of funding for these programmes since their inception is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Extended services( 1)  Family learning( 2) 
			  Sefton   
			 2003-04(3) 213,000 0 
			 2004-05 145,000 0 
			 2005-06 500,603 0 
			 2006-07 959,510 0 
			 2007-08 1,184,746 0 
			 2008-09 1,285,292 39,123 
			 2009-10 1,815,975 — 
			 2010-11 1,393,927 — 
			
			  Merseyside   
			 2003-04(3) 1,756,568 0 
			 2004-04 1,639,568 0 
			 2005-06 2,497,193 0 
			 2006-07 5,034,181 0 
			 2007-08 6,711,863 0 
			 2008-09 8,180,183 305,850 
			 2009-10 11,050,076 — 
			 2010-11 7,539,961 — 
			 (1 )Is made up of start up, sustainability and subsidy funding. Subsidy funding is only in 2008 to 2010 and has not been allocated for 2010 yet. (2)Allocation for 2009 onwards has not been decided yet. (3) The funding from 2003 to 2006 is for full service extended schools and includes allocation for start up, co-ordinators and child care.

Schools: Parents

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department has allocated towards increasing parental engagement in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire and  (b) the East of England schools in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to supporting parental engagement. That support can take many forms at a local level such as targeted support and family learning. In the Children's Plan: Progress Report published in December 2008 we outlined further measures to support parents, schools and early years settings in engaging parents as partners in their children's learning—comprising action to support parents and to prioritise parental engagement throughout the education system.
	It is important that support for parental engagement is embedded in the day to day work of professionals in schools and early years settings and is established as part of the core business of those organisations.
	This means a variety of funding routes should be used to support parental engagement. However, the main initiatives that cover parental engagement in schools are extended services including parent support advisors and family learning interventions.
	Because parental engagement is only one element of extended services and decisions are made locally about spending and priorities, it is only possible to give overall Government funding on these programmes for this area. Details of funding for these programmes since their inception is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Extended Services( 1)  PSA pilot( 2)  Family Learning( 3) 
			  Bedfordshire (until 31 March 2009)
			 2003-04(4) 0 n/a 0 
			 2004-05 0 n/a 0 
			 2005-06 673,807 n/a 0 
			 2006-07 1,118,420 n/a 0 
			 2007-08 1,424,510 n/a 0 
			 2008-09 1,758,593 n/a 74,283 
			 2009-10 0 n/a — 
			 
			  Bedford (from 1 April 2009)
			 2003-04(4) n/a n/a 0 
			 2004-05 n/a n/a 0 
			 2005-06 n/a n/a 0 
			 2006-07 n/a n/a 0 
			 2007-08 n/a n/a 0 
			 2008-09 n/a n/a 0 
			 2009-10 1,041,449 n/a 0 
			 
			  Central Bedford (from 1 April 2009)
			 2003-04(4) n/a n/a 0 
			 2004-05 n/a n/a 0 
			 2005-06 n/a n/a 0 
			 2006-07 n/a n/a 0 
			 2007-08 n/a n/a 0 
			 2008-09 n/a n/a 0 
			 2009-10 1,447,256 n/a 0 
			 
			  GO East
			 2003-04(4) 282,000 n/a 0 
			 2004-05 1,761,279 n/a 0 
			 2005-06 8,648,274 n/a 0 
			 2006-07 16,219,812 956,907 0 
			 2007-08 20,187,899 1,913,815 0 
			 2008-09 25,338,893 664,700 684,460 
			 2009-10 35,602,140 0 — 
			 (1) Is made up of start up, sustainability and subsidy funding. Subsidy funding is only in 2008-10 and has not been allocated for 2010 yet. The sustainability line includes funding for PSAs from 2008 onwards. (2) The pilot ran until September 2008. (3) Some of the funding for Bedfordshire is being utilised in the Mid Bedfordshire geographical area (along with the South Bedfordshire District and Bedford Borough areas) but it would be very difficult to identify exactly how much. Allocation for 2009 onwards has not been decided yet. (4) The funding from 2003-06 is for Full Service Extended Schools and includes allocation for start-up, co-ordinators and child care.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan: Overseas Aid

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of his Department's aid programme for Afghanistan is planned to be channelled through  (a) the Afghan national government,  (b) Afghan regional governments,  (c) Afghan non-governmental organisations,  (d) international non-governmental organisations and  (e) provincial reconstruction teams in 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The approximate planned allocations for 2009-10 are 59 per cent. through the Afghan National Government; 8 per cent. through Afghan non-governmental organisations; 24 per cent. through international non-governmental organisations; and 7 per cent. through the provincial reconstruction teams. The Department for International Development (DFID) does not pass funding directly through provincial governments.
	Most of our development assistance provided to the Afghan National Government goes through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which is managed by the World Bank. Its systems are audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The ARTF reimburses the Afghan Government only upon proof of legitimate expenditure.

Departmental Billing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the average number of days taken to pay an invoice by  (a) his Department and  (b) each of its executive agencies was in each month since November 2008.

Douglas Alexander: As of 12 June 2009, the average number of days taken by the Department for International Development (DFID), to pay an invoice in each month since November 2008 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Date  Number of invoices  Average number of days to make payment 
			 November 2008 1,905 10 
			 December 2008 1,891 11 
			 January 2009 2,677 7 
			 February 2009 2,061 8 
			 March 2009 2,191 12 
			 April 2009 1,872 9 
			 May 2009 1,654 6 
		
	
	DFID has no executive agencies.

Overseas Aid

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answers of 5 June 2008,  Official Report, column 1131W, on overseas aid, and 24 March 2009,  Official Report, column 265W, on sub-Saharan Africa: malaria, for what reasons data on the levels of demand for bed nets are no longer available by country.

Michael Foster: Data on levels of actual demand, at community level, by country are not available. The wording of earlier answers did not make a clear distinction between this and demand levels for procurement purposes.
	As stated in the answer of 24 March 2009,  Official Report , column 265W, the World Malaria Report, issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in September 2008 (which can be found at http://www.who.int/malaria/wmr2008/malaria2008.pdf) includes detailed data on levels of bed-net ownership, usage and coverage by country.
	For procurement purposes, the demand for insecticide treated bed nets is estimated using routine epidemiological and population data collected by national malaria control programmes. However, data on demand at community level are not routinely collected and to do so would be impractical given the financial and human resource constraints available in poorer developing countries.

Zimbabwe

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he has received requests from the Zimbabwean government for financial support; and what the Government's policy on such support is.

Douglas Alexander: The Inclusive Government of Zimbabwe has made a number of formal and informal requests for financial support to its international partners, including the UK.
	The UK has committed an additional £15 million for humanitarian and other essential budget priorities including health, water and sanitation and agricultural inputs. Some of this support will be used for additional technical assistance to help the new Government address priorities for reform. At present, none of this support is channelled through Government systems.
	The UK Government are entirely committed to supporting the people of Zimbabwe on the path towards reform. As I said on 23 April when announcing our additional support:
	"The creation of a more inclusive government represents a real opportunity for much needed change. We welcome efforts by the new Government to deliver economic, social and political reform. Credible progress will attract increasing support from donors and other partners to tackle the root causes of Zimbabwe's problems."

Zimbabwe

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received of the level of the budget deficit of the Zimbabwean government in the current financial year; and what recent discussions he has had with the Zimbabwean government on its financial position.

Douglas Alexander: According to a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following its March 2009 Article IV mission to Zimbabwe, the Inclusive Government has made significant progress in stabilising a very difficult economic situation. The report also pointed to a potential budget deficit of around $200 million in 2009.
	The UK Government have been at the forefront of efforts by the international community to monitor and respond to the financial and technical needs of the Inclusive Government during this difficult transition period. Following discussions with the Zimbabwean Minister of Finance, I announced in April this year a £15 million package of UK support for key government priorities, including assistance to health systems, water and sanitation and smallholder farming. At present, none of this support is channelled through Government systems.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Data Protection

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been (i) disciplined and (ii) dismissed for (A) breaches of data protection requirements and (B) inappropriate use of personal or sensitive data in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: There have been no such cases.
	The Northern Ireland Office has clear policies and processes in place to ensure that staff understand the importance of data security and data confidentiality and to ensure that any cases of potential data loss can be properly dealt with.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on  (a) conference services and  (b) banqueting services in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) records expenditure for conferences and banquets under the description of hospitality or catering. Due to the high volume of transactions within these expenditure areas it would be possible to extract the costs requested only at disproportionate cost.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Environment Protection: Transport

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much funding his Department has allocated to encourage take up of environmentally-friendly means of transportation in  (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency and  (b) the East of England since it was established; and if he will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: I have been asked to reply.
	Funding provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) to local transport authorities is not generally ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Figures are not available at constituency level.
	The Department provides integrated transport block and highways maintenance funding to local transport authorities to support capital investment in transport, which may be used for a range of purposes as the authorities see fit. Allocations provided to Bedfordshire county council and the eastern region, since 1997, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  (£ millions) 
			   Bedfordshire  Eastern Region 
			 2008-09 9.286 157.771 
			 2007-08 7.751 159.476 
			 2006-07 9.573 157.826 
			 2005-06 9.351 156.899 
			 2004-05 8.001 156.586 
			 2003-04 7.364 141.735 
			 2002-03 6.591 140.193 
			 2001-02 7.147 137.774 
			 2000-01 4.017 56.608 
			 1999-2000 4.602 52.125 
			 1998-99 3.070 32.150 
			 1997-98 3.692 41.203 
			  Note: Since 2000 the allocations comprise integrated transport block grant and highways maintenance. Prior to 2000 the allocations are in the form of gross approved spending. 
		
	
	Revenue expenditure on transport is generally supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's Formula Grant.
	In addition to this funding, DfT has made some funding available specifically to support cycling. In 2007-08 and 2008-09, DfT provided £6,720 and £32,000 respectively to Bedfordshire county council to fund cycling training. In 2009-10, following the local authority boundary changes, Bedford borough are due to receive £28,000, and central Bedfordshire £35,240 to fund 700 and 881 training places respectively.